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.
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