With $180 million in Fundraising Spearheaded by KKR, Livspace becomes a Unicorn
Livspace announced that it has reached a billion-dollar value after obtaining $180 million in a late-stage investment round sponsored by KKR & Co, as it tries to expand internationally and compete against local rivals.
According to Venture Intelligence Unicorn Tracker, the home renovation platform is India's 86th "unicorn" in an era of record fundraising for Indian start-ups, with 43 companies joining the club last year alone.
Ikea, as well as Jungle Ventures, Venturi Partners, and Peugeot Investments, were among the early backers in the round.
Livspace, a Singapore-based company with extensive operations in India, has so far received over $450 million.
"Our business is growing exponentially in both India and Singapore, and we aim to replicate this playbook, launch new solutions and accelerate our launches across new markets with operations across APAC, MENA and Australia," Chief Executive Officer and co-founder Anuj Srivastava said in a statement.
The sale is the latest in a succession of consumer internet mergers for private equity firm KKR, which includes Indian eyeglasses shop Lenskart, China's digital dairy venture Adopt A Cow, and small business-focused platforms GrowSari and KiotViet in Southeast Asia.
It all started when Anuj Srivastava and Ramakant Sharma, two college mates, decided to create their dream homes. It didn't take them long to see how fragmented the market was, and how issues like identifying the correct expertise, task coordination, and guaranteeing fair price and quality were all issues that many people had to deal with.
They built a much-needed bridge for the industry, determined to fix this and provide a better experience for homeowners. In the year 2014, Livspace was established. For thousands of homeowners, it is now the go-to brand for complete home interior design and renovation.
Anuj formerly worked for Google as the Global Head of Product Marketing for the e-commerce unit. He graduated from IIT Kanpur with a bachelor's degree and went on to London Business School for his MBA.
Ramakant was a key member of the Myntra team and the Vice President of Engineering. He earned his bachelor's degree from IIT Kanpur and his MBA from the Indian School of Business in Hyderabad.
According to Venture Intelligence Unicorn Tracker, the home renovation platform is India's 86th "unicorn" in an era of record fundraising for Indian start-ups, with 43 companies joining the club last year alone.
Ikea, as well as Jungle Ventures, Venturi Partners, and Peugeot Investments, were among the early backers in the round.
Livspace, a Singapore-based company with extensive operations in India, has so far received over $450 million.
"Our business is growing exponentially in both India and Singapore, and we aim to replicate this playbook, launch new solutions and accelerate our launches across new markets with operations across APAC, MENA and Australia," Chief Executive Officer and co-founder Anuj Srivastava said in a statement.
The sale is the latest in a succession of consumer internet mergers for private equity firm KKR, which includes Indian eyeglasses shop Lenskart, China's digital dairy venture Adopt A Cow, and small business-focused platforms GrowSari and KiotViet in Southeast Asia.
It all started when Anuj Srivastava and Ramakant Sharma, two college mates, decided to create their dream homes. It didn't take them long to see how fragmented the market was, and how issues like identifying the correct expertise, task coordination, and guaranteeing fair price and quality were all issues that many people had to deal with.
They built a much-needed bridge for the industry, determined to fix this and provide a better experience for homeowners. In the year 2014, Livspace was established. For thousands of homeowners, it is now the go-to brand for complete home interior design and renovation.
Anuj formerly worked for Google as the Global Head of Product Marketing for the e-commerce unit. He graduated from IIT Kanpur with a bachelor's degree and went on to London Business School for his MBA.
Ramakant was a key member of the Myntra team and the Vice President of Engineering. He earned his bachelor's degree from IIT Kanpur and his MBA from the Indian School of Business in Hyderabad.
