Germany: Berlin-based coliving and flex living brand Habyt has closed a Series A round of €40 million.
Habyt’s portfolio stands at 30,000 units across 50 cities, and the company says that it is profitable already in several of its key markets. It has extensive properties across Asia and Europe, in cities including Berlin, Madrid, Hong Kong and Singapore. It is on track for profitability across the company in 2024.
The funding will be used in part to continue enhancing Habyt’s tech platform as well as to expand the business overall across Europe, Asia and North America.
The round included European and US VC investors. Korelya Capital and Deutsche Invest co-led the round which also included new investors Exor Ventures and Endeavor Catalyst, as well as existing backers P101, ITALIA500-Azimut, HV Capital, Vorwerk Ventures, Norwest, Kinnevik, Burda Principal Investments and Inveready. Other earlier investors in Habyt include Sequoia, Picus and Mitsubishi Estate.
“We are the only player in the coliving market that manages everything, end to end, via a tech platform,” said CEO and founder Luca Bovone in an interview.
Bovone said that Habyt focuses on stays of between six and nine months, which he calls “the sweet spot of medium stays”.
Target customers include an estimated 35 million digital nomads as well as those who are either looking for places to buy or are holding off to see what happens with interest rates. Around 70 per cent of its customers are international relocators and 30 per cent were already living the cities where they’re renting through Habyt.
“Habyt is solving the ever growing global problem of access to housing with a digital-first solution appealing to young local families and mobile professionals alike, while offering real estate developers and investors an innovative and compelling product,” said Franco Danesi, a partner at Korelya Capital and a board member at Habyt. “We believe in Habyt’s bold vision of redefining the world of flexible housing, and we are keen to support them on their journey by facilitating access to attractive geographies such as Asia.”
In January this year, Habyt acquired US-based Common to become the largest global coliving player.
