NoBroker Becomes India’s First Proptech Unicorn With $210 Mn Series E Round

Bengaluru-based real estate platform NoBroker has raised $210 Mn in its Series E round taking its total fundraising tally to $361 Mn. Led by existing investors General Atlantic and Tiger Global Management, the round also saw participation from US-based Moore Strategic Ventures. 

With this, the proptech (property tech) startup claims to have achieved a billion dollars valuation making it the first in the category.

It is the 37th Indian startup to have entered the unicorn club in 2021 after ecommerce roll-up startup Mensa Brands. Likewise, the funding helped it secure the 79th position among Indian startups with a $1 Bn+ valuation.

Simply put, proptech is a term that refers to the application of digital technologies in the real estate industry. The concept includes everything from project design, construction management, financing mechanisms, property management and real estate investments. 

According to NoBroker, the raised funds will be used to continue investing in its NoBrokerHood platform, a tech-enabled security management system and a classifieds marketplace for gated communities. Currently a team of 150 members, the startup also plans on ramping up hiring by 2x by FY22.

Founded in 2014 by Akhil Gupta, Saurabh Garg and Amit Kumar, NoBroker is a real estate rental platform that provides verified listings from property owners, without brokerage fees for middlemen. The startup’s secondary business includes a NoBroker Financial Service platform that provides home loans, and NoBroker Home Services platform that provides packers and movers, legal documentation, among other services. 

The company launched a tech-enabled security management system NoBrokerHood that aims to simplify visitor management within residential accommodations and also offers a seller’s marketplace for verified users. 

Currently available in six cities namely Bengaluru, Mumbai, Pune, Chennai, Hyderabad and Delhi-NCR, NoBroker’s roadmap for the next five years includes expansion to metro, Tier 1 cities and beyond, as shared by Gupta.

He also calls the NoBrokerHood platform ‘the gateway to reaching out to more consumers for its core business’. NoBroker has recently ventured into primary sales via builder, which will allow a direct reach for all of its platforms including home services, financial backing for buyers and community-oriented classifieds marketplace.

“We have grown 3x year-on-year, even during the pandemic. We have over 16 Mn users on the platform, and we add 500K+ users every month,” he added. 

NoBrokerHood, alone, is present in 10K+ residentials, and taking the number to over 1 Lakh, will be the centre of attention for the company’s roadmap.

Talking about profitability, Gupta added, “Getting profitable is not a problem. But we aim to keep on solving customer problems; we make money and we invest in new products and new geographies. No property tech startup has turned unicorn until now or has the segment seen any big platform. This is a great achievement for us, and in the longer run, we will be able to take NoBroker to a much bigger level, profitability will follow.”

The startup reported a revenue of INR 79 Cr in FY20, up from INR 30 Cr in FY19, according to Tofler. For the same period, it also reported an EBITDA loss of INR 98 Cr, up from INR 46 in FY19.

With 500K+ transactions (properties being either sold or rented) every year, NoBroker’s core platform returns the highest revenue.

Currently, the real estate sector contributes around 6-7% to the total GDP. It is expected to reach a market size of $1 Tn by 2030, contributing 13% to the country’s GDP by 2025.

Among platforms for property listings, NoBroker competes with MagicBricks, Housing.com, NoBroker, 99Acres, Makaan.com among others.