Genesia Ventures invests in Vietnam’s Airbnb-like startup Luxstay

By Nguyen Thi Bich Ngoc

May 26, 2017

Japanese venture capital Genesia Ventures said it has completed an undisclosed investment in six-month-old house rental startup Luxstay.

This is the first venture capital funding round the company has received, an executive with the firm told DEALSTREETASIA.

Luxstay allows customers to rent short-term villas, apartments and high-end homestays owned by local people across Southeast Asian countries.

Founded by Vietnamese entrepreneur Steven Nguyen, it is incorporated in Singapore and currently operating primarily in Vietnam.

The company positions itself as “Airbnb in the premium segmentation” of Southeast Asia, with differentiation in the high-end categories.

“Only finest homes in greatest places with full modern equipment can be available on Luxstay,” it said in a statement, adding that accommodation quality was equivalent to four to five star with half of the cost.

The startup also commits that there is ‘no compromising the accuracy’ of individual homes listed on its website.

Luxstay launched in Vietnam and Thailand due to the countries’ tremendous tourism potentials and a lack of short-term rental services, said the company.

With this latest funding, Luxstay targets to become the largest short-term rental platform in Southeast Asia.

Genesia Ventures is a new venture capital firm established in 2016 and led by Soichi Tajima, former CEO of Cyberagent Ventures, which has invested in a number of Vietnamese and Thai startups.

The firm focuses on the seed and pre-series A stages across various sectors, including new economy, digital media, AI and robotics.

Genesia Ventures decided to invest in Luxstay after Tajima became acquainted with the company’s model during an earlier visit to Vietnam.

Also read: Japan: HR startup Mosquitone raises seed funding from Genesia Ventures, Beenext

Singapore Reporter/s

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Singapore Reporter/s

In Singapore, we are looking to double our reporting team by this year-end to comprehensively cover the fast-moving world of funded startups and VC, PE & M&A deals. We want reporters who can tell our readers what is really happening in these sectors and why it matters to markets, companies and consumers. The ability to write precisely and urgently is crucial for these roles. Ideal candidates must have to ability to work in a collaborative, dynamic, and fast-changing environment. We want our new hires to be digitally savvy and ready to experiment with new forms of storytelling. Most importantly, we are looking for hard-hitting reporters who work well in a team. Collaboration and collegiality are a must.

Following vacancies can be applied for (only in Singapore).

Following vacancies can be applied for (only in Singapore).   

  • A reporter to track companies/startups that have raised private capital, and have the potential to become unicorns. SEA currently has over 40 companies with a valuation of over $100 million and under $1 billion.
  • A reporter who can get behind the scenes and reveal how funding rounds are put together, or why they’ve failed to materialise. She/he in this role will largely focus on long-format stories. 
  • A journalist to track special situations funds, distressed debt and private credit (from the PE angle) across Asia.
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