India's HomeLane raises $9m bridge round
India’s HomeLane, an interior design start-up backed by several venture capital firms, has raised a INR 750m (USD 9.1m) bridge round from unspecified existing backers.
It follows a USD 50m Series E round in 2021 led by IIFL Asset Management, which is part of 360 One, a Bain Capital-backed group that recently rebranded from IIFL Wealth & Asset Management.
That round also featured Sequoia Capital India, Accel Partners, Stride Ventures, NuVentures, Evolvence India, and OIJIF II, the second vintage from a joint venture between the State General Reserve Fund of Oman and the State Bank of India.
Last October, debt investor Stride Ventures provided HomeLane with INR 180m in the form of debentures and warrants.
HomeLane described the latest investment as highlighting its potential to become the first profitable company in the home interior space; the plan is to hit profitability within the 2024 financial year. It previously claimed its asset-light model helped it record cash profitability in November 2020.
The company said it would use the bridge round for an expansion, albeit within its current footprint of 22 cities. Operations covered 18 cities at the time of the Series E. The fresh capital will also be used to scale up Doowup, a newly launched affordable home decor brand that offers kitchen installations as cheap as INR 60,000.
HomeLane provides end-to-end interior design services for about 30,000 customers with more than 50 experience centres across India. The offering includes an all-virtual 3D design and floor plan process, as well as installation and post-installation services.
Total funding since the company’s inception in 2014 comes to around USD 115m. Earlier investors include JSW Ventures, FJ Labs, Pidilite Industries, Brand Capital, and RB Investments. Aarin Capital was one of the first institutional backers, providing a USD 4.5m round in 2015 alongside Sequoia India.
Homebuilding and design services is an active niche in India. Notable players include Brick&Bolt, which is also backed by Accel, Sequoia, and Stride, and Livspace, which has raised more than USD 530m from the likes of KKR and Goldman Sachs. Meanwhile, The Carlyle Group owns 35% of flooring and tiles specialist Varmora.
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