Online platform for long stays Square Plums raises $450K from IAN

Bangalore-based Urban Stay Technologies Pvt. Ltd, the company which runs and operates co-living platform for long stays Square Plums, has raised Rs 3 crore ($450,000) in funding from Indian Angel Network (IAN).

The money would be utilised for on-boarding the properties and building the technology, as per a press statement.

The investment was led by VGN Prakash, Amitabh Shrivastava, Krishna Jha and Ravindra Krishnappa on behalf of IAN. Prakash will also join the company's board, added the statement.

"Our aim is to provide easy and affordable stay and disrupt the long stay accommodation market for young adults. Young professionals from Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities work in high end knowledge parks and MNCs but are often forced to live at substandard bachelor pads and PGs/hostels," said, Square Plums' co-founder and COO, Hemant Attray.

Square Plums enables users to search fully furnished homes in locations of their choice and matches them with up other like-minded individuals who can share the property with them. It was founded by BITS Pilani alumni, Rajesh Kumar Kotta and Attray in February 2016.

The company curates, designs and furnishes accommodations for singles. For house owners, the company offers benefit of letting out a fully furnished house, with up to 50% higher rentals. Square Plums also plans to launch mobile app soon.

Square Plums competes with Tiger Global-backed NestAway, CoHo Stayz and Fella Homes. Fella Homes had recently raised close to $2 million from unnamed investors and had also acquired Noida-based home rental startup LifePad.

IAN, which has been active in the early-stage investments space, backed Find My Stay Pvt Ltd, which runs hotel booking platform Findmystay.com, early this month.

IAN's other recent funding deals include investments in mobile advertising platform PayTunes, tech-enabled fashion startup 6Degree, Delhi-based city guide Little Black Book, entertainment firm Roast Media Pvt Ltd which operates mobile entertainment app Roast and robotics startup SP Robotics Works.

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