Coworking Space Provider Awfis Raises $20 Mn In Series C Funding

Collaborative coworking space provider Awfis has raised $20 Mn in a Series C funding round from existing investors Sequoia Capital, The Three Sisters: Institutional Office (TTS:IO), and InnoVen Capital.

Awfis was founded by Amit Ramani in 2015, with strategic backing from The Three Sisters: Institutional Office (TTS:IO). It offers customers the facility to book workplaces for durations ranging from an hour to 11 months.

It is being speculated that, with the latest funding, the valuation of the company has reached more than $130.8 Mn (INR 900 Cr).

Awfis plans to use the funding to bolster and deepen the Awfis network across India, launch new and innovative products/services and further enhance the existing technology platform.

Till date, the company has raised about $51 Mn in risk capital, including a $20 Mn Series B round from Sequoia in April 2017.

Abhay Pandey, Managing Director, Sequoia Capital – India said “We are thrilled with the demand side traction for Awfis product especially from SMEs and Corporates, thereby validating our hypothesis of a massive market opportunity. Awfis has generated tremendous momentum with its unique supply acquisition models. It is re-creating the workspace landscape for the benefit of both tenants and landlords.”

25K Seats, 55 Centres And Counting

At present, Awfis claims to have about 25,000 seats across 55 centres. The member base at Awfis includes a growing network of more than 1200 companies ranging from India’s leading startups/MSMEs to Fortune 500 companies.

Apart from its own managed coworking spaces, Awfis also offers a repository of third-party meeting rooms in hotel chains such as Lemon Tree, Hyatt, and Trident, among others, across India. Awfis has a nation-wide network of 55 centres across nine cities and 45 micro markets.

Amit Ramani, Founder & CEO of Awfis said, “With the growing demand for coworking spaces, there is a focus on transforming under-utilised real estate assets and providing affordable workspaces for entrepreneurs. The additional capital will aid us in expanding our footprint in India with over 100 centres with more than 40K seats in the next 12 months. Our priority is to deepen the penetration in existing markets and enter new cities with a focus on Tier II locations.”

The Coworking Space In India

In the coworking space segment, Awfis competes with US-based coworking startup WeWork, BHIVE Workplace, Innov8, 91springboard, and Creator’s Gurukul, among others.

Recently, Creator’s Gurukul raised an undisclosed amount in a fresh round of funding and also went live with its flagship centre near Cyber City in Millennium City, Gurugram.

At the same time, Bengaluru-based IndiQube raised $15 Mn (NR 100 Cr) equity funding in a round led by WestBridge Capital.

In 2017, the size of the coworking market in India increased by more than 50%. JLL India said that by the end of 2018, India’s coworking market is expected to grow by 40% to 50%, reaching over 1 Mn square feet of leased areas with a total investment of $400 Mn.

Coworking space providers are expected to lease about 8 to 9 Mn square feet of the total workspace in India by 2020.

Notably, Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru have the biggest concentrations of coworking spaces due to the growing number of startups — nearly 70% of India’s startups are based in this three cities.