[Funding alert] OYO confirms investment from Airbnb, sees strategic ties with OYO Homes
This investment is a part of OYO's Series E fund raise, which it had announced in September last year.
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Putting week-long speculations to rest, Airbnb today confirmed that it invested in OYO in the startup's Series E round.
The Gurugram-based hospitality startup raised $1 billion in Series E round across different tranches, closing it in December 2018. While both OYO and AirBnB have refused to comment on the terms of the deal, they added it was a strategic investment in the company.
Maninder Gulati, Global Chief Strategy Officer at OYO Hotels and Homes, said,
“We at OYO Hotels & Homes are committed to offering our guests and travellers around the world, great quality living spaces. Strong global strategic relationships that support this mission, help drive collaborative efforts in the right direction."
Ritesh Agarwal, Founder and Group CEO
Also read: OYO brings hassle-free apartment renting service to Japan with OYO LIFE
He added, "AirBnb’s strong global footprints and access to local communities will open up new opportunities for OYO Hotels & Homes to strengthen and grow while staying true to our core value proposition."
AirBnB's investment in OYO works more closely with OYO Homes segment, which was launched last year. According to company sources, AirBnB and OYO will now work on different projects, apart from making OYO accommodations available on AirBnB platform.
"Currently, OYO has over 10,000 homes present in India and Dubai, and AirBnB is looking to expand its presence in India and Southeast Asia. Apart from that, we get access to markets like the US with this investment," says a highly-placed source.
OYO also announced that it has launched operations in Japan through a joint venture with Yahoo! JAPAN to bring its housing rental product to the country starting from March. The service, called OYO LIFE, is live with over 1,000 residential units across Tokyo.
Earlier last month, OYO also said it will invest Rs 1,400 crore in its India and South Asia businesses. The company also announced the launch of its new brand Collection O that is targeting millennials and young travellers.
Collection O already has 12 hotels, and is focussed on the budget to mid-segment hotel chain brands. “We plan to touch close to 650 hotels with over 20,000 rooms this year,” added Aditya Ghosh, CEO, OYO India and South Asia.
Also read: OYO calls China its second ‘home’ market. It has 3.2 lakh reasons to say so