Singapore-based co-living startup Hmlet on Tuesday announced raising $40 million in a Series B funding round led by Burda Principal Investments.
DealStreetAsia had reported the fundraising hours ahead of the official announcement.
Hmlet’s latest financing was backed by existing investor Sequoia India and new investors Mitsubishi Real Estate and Australian venture capital firm Reinventure.
Hmlet’s last capital raise was a $6.5-million Series A round led by Sequoia Capital India in November last year. Prior to that, it had raised a $1.5 million seed round led by Aurum Investments in 2017, which was joined by a number of angel investors including Huang Shao Ning, co-founder of Singapore-based jobs search site JobsCentral.
Yoan Kamalski, CEO of Hmlet said: “We’ve seen our philosophy and operational model resonate with the market, which has allowed us to secure our Series B funding less than 12 months after our Series A round. We’re extremely proud of our team and we will continue to build on our commitment to give our existing and future members a home and community that supports their new way of working and living.”
Hmlet has expanded its presence significantly since its Series A round, foraying into new cities including Hong Kong and Sydney.
Its entry into Hong Kong was made possible through the acquisition of we r urban for an undisclosed sum in July 2018, through which it gained access to the latter’s portfolio of 30 co-living spaces spanning 15,000 sq ft.
In Sydney, Hmlet is present in Newtown and Marrickville, two inner-city suburbs. In Singapore, it recently signed a new property in the city state’s Tanjong Pagar/Cantonment Downtown CBD precinct covering over 76,000 square feet, making it one of its largest co-living spaces so far.
Hmlet is also looking to enter Melbourne, Brisbane and Tokyo, according to its official website. Today, Hmlet manages over 1,500 rooms and is looking to build a network that spans across 10 cities in 5 countries within the next two years.
Founded in 2016 by Yoan Kamalski and Zenos Schmickrath, Hmlet runs co-living spaces where young working professionals can rent rooms or apartments on a month-by-month basis with a minimum commitment of three months. It claims to differentiate itself through proprietary technology that helps match flatmates.
