Knotel a start up founded by Anmol Sarva is now going to give major competition to Wework and we all now want to know how is this going to happen,here we go..👇👇
Knotel, a New York startup that designs and operates bespoke spaces for brands, today announced that it’s secured $400 million in funding at a valuation of $1 billion led by Wafra, an investment arm of Kuwait’s Sovereign Wealth Fund, with participation from Mori Trust, Itochu, and Mercuria. The capital infusion brings its total raised to over $500 million, and cofounder and CEO Amol Sarva says it’ll be used to grow the company’s footprint in existing markets and deepen its engagement with global enterprise accounts.
“Knotel is building the future of the workplace, and we are excited to welcome a group of investors who believe passionately in our product, vision and ability to execute,” said Sarva, previously the CEO and president of neurostimulation startup Halo Neuroscience. “Wafra will help us continue our rapid global expansion and solidify our position as the leader in a fast-growing, trillion-dollar flexible office market.”
The fundraising was in exchange for 15% to 30% of the closely held company, he said, implying a valuation of at least $1.3 billion. He declined to be more specific.
WeWork, in contrast, has achieved a private-market valuation of $47 billion, placing it far ahead of a slew of rivals around the world hoping to lure away its members. It’s planning an initial public offering next month that may raise more than $3 billion.
One difference between the startup and WeWork is that Knotel only counts large companies such as Starbucks Corp., Microsoft Corp., Oracle Corp., AT&T Inc. and BP Plc as clients. Founded in 2016, Knotel spans more than 4 million square feet of flexible workspace. Its leases have a weighted-average term of more than two years and a cohort of more than 100 desks.
“Our business is so different,” Sarva said, predicting his company will leap past its much larger rival. “In 18 to 24 months they’ll be behind us. It’ll be like EBay and Amazon, Myspace and Facebook.”
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Knotel previously raised $160 million from investors including Newmark Knight Frank, Norwest Venture Partners and Sapir Organization, which also participated in the recent round. Other investors in the firm have included Rocket Internet and Bloomberg Beta, the venture capital arm of Bloomberg LP, the owner of Bloomberg News.
With the proceeds from its recent fundraising, Knotel intends to get “way deeper” in cities it’s already present, such as New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles.
“In a place like New York, 100 buildings isn’t enough, 1,000 buildings isn’t enough,” Sarva mused, estimating that the leading player in a category can reach 30% of the total market. He estimated that would be in the vicinity of 3,000 buildings in New York, where it has more than 108 locations to WeWork’s 62. Knotel says it’s also more ubiquitous in cities such as Paris and the San Francisco Bay Area by number of locations. To be sure, WeWork’s footprint is much larger.
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| designed by knotel.image source: Gary's guide. |
The new capital will help Knotel spread farther afield, targeting cities such as Tokyo, Seoul, Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Hong Kong, Singapore, Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore and Hyderabad. Within the U.S., it will seek locations in Houston, Dallas, Chicago and Atlanta.
About knotel:
Knotel is the world's leading flexible workspace provider that gets, fits, fills and manages space for customers. Knotel caters to established and growing companies, giving them the freedom to focus on their business, culture, and people.
About Wework :
WeWork is an American company that provides shared workspaces for technology startup subculture communities, and services for entrepreneurs, freelancers, startups, small businesses and large enterprises. Founded in 2010, it is headquartered in New York City. As of 2018, WeWork manages 46.63 mill. sq. ft.
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