Livspace raises Rs 100cr funding from existing investors
Home interior design marketplace Livspace has raised Rs 100 crore from Bessemer Venture Partners and Singapore-based Jungle Ventures, along with Helion Venture Partners. This is their third round of funding, after raising $4.6 million in 2014 and $8 million in 2015.
Anuj Srivastava, co-founder and CEO, told YourStory:
This will last for a good two years. With Rs 100 crore, we can build a $100 million company and attain profitability in all metros we operate in. You will see more launches in new categories and sub categories, as well as experiential technology.
The funds will be used to expand their operational footprint across Noida, Gurgaon and Mumbai in 2016, and Pune and Hyderabad in 2017. Livspace will set up design studios with VR technology integration and expand the design automation platform across thousands of freelance designers in the country.
Anuj says, “We will bring in more categories, more listing in our modular section for a wider price segment– one level upper, and one level lower, from what we currently provide. We have invested a lot of capital in technology, people and partnerships. There are opportunities in supply side integration and the launching of more innovative products.”
Livspace’s average price point is Rs 10-11 lakh. They are planning to expand to the Rs 6-8 lakh and Rs 20-40 lakh price points as well.
Three year journey
Livspace had recently launched an automation platform to integrate e-commerce and onboard more interior designers as ‘design entrepreneurs’. Freelance designers can work for Livspace from anywhere in the world, by paying a commission.
Anuj, former head of product marketing at the Google headquarters in Silicon Valley, co-founded Livspace in 2012 with Ramakant Sharma, former VP, Engineering, at Myntra. Both are IIT Kanpur graduates. Within the first year of its launch, Livspace made three acquisitions– DezignUp, Dwll.in, and YoFloor.
Livspace claims to be profitable already in Bengaluru, and aims to be so across other metros within this year. “We will now have new infrastructure in Gurgaon and Noida, and more in Bengaluru and Mumbai. They will all have new operational teams too. Community expansion will happen with designer partners. We have the right funding to ensure growth,” says Anuj. He added that demand for huge funding comes when there is a high burn rate for inventory built up or high cost of acquisition. “We don’t need a lot of capital; we are well funded, but not overly so,” he adds. Livspace does not follow an inventory model.
Although no acquisitions are planned for the foreseeable future, experiential technology is a sector of their interest. Anuj says that although there are offers for expansion outside India, their current focus is on domestic expansion.