Truliv, a Chennai-based co-living and holiday homes startup, has raised a pre-seed round of $1.5 million growth fund from various investors led by Conquest Global Ventures VCC, Vara Future LLP, and others at a post-money valuation of 60 crore. This is the first Chennai-based co-living startup to raise a seed round.

Incorporated in 2019, Truliv is a subsidiary of DRA created for the purpose of redefining alternate real estate class. “Truliv intends to utilise these funds for the growth of its co-living, and holiday homes business verticals. The company targets to reach 7,000 co-living beds in Chennai by 2025, which is a 3X increase from its current capacity, and to 36 holiday homes across Tamil Nadu by 2025 which is a 5X increase from its current capacity,” Rohit Reddy, Co-Founder, Truliv said.

“The demand for shared living spaces is expected to rise significantly over the next few years,” Ranjeeth Rathod, Co-Founder, Truliv said. Housing models like co-living have seen increased demand and acceptance, especially from the millennials.

A report by Colliers International indicated that there are currently 50+ operators in the co-living space, getting an expected yield between 7 to 9%, with approximately 2,10,000 beds in the organised space with rental ranges between 8,000 to 14,000 per month. The market value of organised players in the co-living industry is around 25,000 crore and this sector has seen PE Investment of over USD 900 million.

Demand drivers for co-living include rising workforce trends, an inefficient unorganised sector that includes demand-supply gaps, migration towards urban centres, and an increasing student population. Organized co-living is concentrated largely in metro and tier - I cities of India with expansion being witnessed across tier-II cities as well. The Colliers report stated that the 2,10,000 beds during the fourth quarter of 2021 saw 70% occupancy.