[Funding alert] Home interior solutions startup Design Cafe raises $25M led by Westbridge Capital, Sixth Sense Ventures

Design Cafe, a Bengaluru-based home interior solutions startup, Monday said it raised a total of $25 million (Rs 166 crore) in its latest round of funding. The round was led by existing investors WestBridge Capital and Sixth Sense Ventures. The funding — including Rs 50 crore raised earlier as an extension of its ​​Series B round — will be used for new city expansion. 

Early investor Fireside Ventures also participated in this round, along with a few family offices. 

The startup will use the capital to expand its footprint across India and plan to be present in the top 10 Indian cities over the next 18 months.

At present, Design Cafe has operations in Bengaluru, Mumbai, and Hyderabad, with new centres launched in Chennai and Thane. The startup is also planning to open more experience centres in Bengaluru.

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Speaking on the development, Kanwaljit Singh, Managing Director Fireside Ventures, said:

"Design Café was an early entrant in the space of creating designer homes with a touch of exclusiveness and class. Home has now become the centre of work and family life and this is where every consumer is looking for the best options when it comes to doing up their dream homes, this is the edge that the founders have focused on. We are confident that the need for good homes is here to stay forever and the fact that Design Café blends all aspects of home design with tech, is why they have grown and built their large client base across India."

Shezaan Bhojani, CEO and Co-founder, Design Cafe, said, 

“The funds raised will allow us to take our highly rated services and products to more markets and invest further in technology and people."

“We believe that home interiors and improvement is a very large opportunity in India, and the problems that Design Cafe addresses are real consumer need today. We’ve been part of their journey for the past few years and have high confidence in the team to create an industry-leading brand for home interiors,” added Sandeep Singhal, Co-founder and Managing Director, WestBridge Capital.

Design​ Cafe is targeting a gross annual order booking run rate of Rs 600-700 ​crore within the next two years and will aggressively explore growth opportunities in the home segment​ ​​​with a​ dedicated aim to build a billion-dollar brand.

Commenting on the investment in Design Cafe, Founder and CEO of Sixth Sense Ventures, Nikhil Vora said, 

“Home improvement and design is a $20 billion industry in India, which is completely fragmented and unorganised. Consumers have been looking for hassle-free, one-stop solutions, and with significant digital adoption by new-age consumers, we believe Design Café is extremely well-positioned with their tech-enabled service offering.”