Sequoia commits $20m to Indian co-working space Awfis

Awfis will use the new capital to improve its technology support platform, add new products and services, and grow its network of co-working centers, according to media reports linked on the company’s website. It hopes to increase its geographical reach from the current 21 centers to 100 in the next 24 months, and to grow its seat capacity from 7,500 to 35,000.

In addition to managing its own centers, Awfis also partners with commercial property owners with unused space to turn them into additional working spaces, as well as providing a listing and booking platform for other co-working space providers. The company targets small and medium-sized enterprises, start-ups, and large corporate clients looking for short-term, ready to use office space.

The Series B round brings Awfis’ total funding to $31 million. The company raised an $11 million Series A round in 2015 from founder Amit Ramani and the family office of Yes Bank founder Rana Kapoor.

Awfis’ new round comes as US-based rival WeWork pursues its own Asia expansion strategy, having raised a Series F round last year from China’s Legend Holdings and Hony Capital reported at $430 million. The company opened a co-working space in Shanghai last year and two in Hong Kong earlier this year, and is reportedly planning to enter India by the end of 2017.

Co-working spaces, which provide furnished office spaces with services such as internet connectivity and offer the prospect of improved networking opportunities, have become increasingly attractive in Asia as the region’s economic growth leaves companies with limited access to traditional office spaces. Recently Chinese VC-backed co-working space provider UrWork agreed to merge with its industry peer New Space. The combined entity will be worth RMB9 billion ($1.3 billion) and have more than 100 co-working spaces in 24 cities, including Beijng, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Taipei, Singapore, New York and London.

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• Topics
• South Asia
• Support services
• Early-stage
• India
• Sequoia Capital
• professional services