HomeLane Eyes Expansion With $8 Mn From Stride, Accel & Others

Bengaluru-based home interior services startup HomeLane has raised INR 60 Cr (over $8.1 Mn) in a bridge round from new and existing investors. The round was led by Stride Ventures which participated through venture debt of INR 20 Cr (nearly $2.7 Mn).

HomeLane’s existing investors Accel Partners, Sequoia Capital, Evolvence India and JSW Ventures have also participated in this round, infusing another INR 40 Cr ($5.4 Mn) in equity. With this round, HomeLane has raised nearly INR 370 Cr ($54 Mn) across multiple rounds over the last 6 years.

In a press statement, HomeLane said it would use the funds to enter new markets with a greater focus on non-metro expansion in India while strengthening the brand presence across existing markets. The company will also use this capital infusion to enhance its tech offering, particularly around user experience for Spacecraft, its proprietary 3D interior design product.

Talking about how the company has had to modify its operation during the lockdown, CEO and founder Srikanth Iyer said, “Our mission is to make home interiors easy for the world, and this hasn’t changed during the pandemic. Virtual meetings, powered by our 3D design’s collaboration platform SpaceCraft, have enabled us to meet customers and deliver superior design experience to them while practising social distancing. We believe that there’s still a sizable gap in the market that HomeLane can address.”

Founded in 2014 by Rama Harinath, Srikanth Iyer, and Vivek Parasuram, HomeLane had raised $30 Mn Series D funding in its previous round in December 2019. The round was led by Evolvence India Fund (EIF), Pidilite Group and FJ Labs, with participation from Sequoia Capital, Accel Partners and JSW Ventures.

In addition to creating 3D renditions of a space, HomeLane’s virtual design platform SpaceCraft also offers a real-time pricing engine that helps customers keep track of their potential spending. The company also offers professional interior designers for each client. At present, it operates in Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Mumbai and Delhi-NCR.

Ishpreet Gandhi, founder and managing partner at Stride Ventures, commenting on the deal, said, “With the online home decor market gaining momentum in recent years, HomeLane’s technology-oriented approach has made interior designing much more approachable. The company’s continued focus on customer experience, cost-effectiveness and product quality have been indispensable for the success of the business.”

In FY2020, HomeLane recorded operating revenue of INR 230.4 Cr, representing a growth of over 130% from INR 99.95 Cr recorded in the previous year. The company claims that it is on track to reach EBITDA breakeven by April 2021.

Though the target may seem a little difficult to achieve as the Covid-19 pandemic has impacted people’s spending capacity. However, cofounder Iyer had previously told Inc42 that the company’s business never went to zero even during the lockdown as it has different verticals that manufacture, install and sell furniture.

While manufacturing and installation were completely shut during the first two phases of the lockdown, HomeLane’s Spacecraft managed to do 30% of its business, as compared to new orders in March 2020.

HomeLane restarted its manufacturing and installation in May and expected to recover 30% to 35% of its business in the month. Iyer was positive that HomeLane would grow by 5% to 10% month-on-month (MoM) to reach pre-Covid numbers.