SAIF Partners, Mayfield lead seed round in realty platform Strata

Bengaluru-based Strata Property Management, which owns commercial real estate investment platform Strata, has raised $1.5 million in a seed round led by early-to-mid stage investment firm SAIF Partners and venture capital firm Mayfield.

Real estate data analytics platform PropStack and three other angel investors also participated in the round, a statement said.

Founded in May 2019 by Sudarshan Lodha and Priyanka Rathore, Strata is a technology-focused commercial real estate brokerage.

The company lists properties on its platform and has other features such as price forecasting based on location, tenancy rights, rental yield and due diligence. It charges a yearly fee of 1% of the deal value for managing the property and 20% performance fee only if the asset has appreciated by at least 8%.     

While Lodha has over eight years experience in real estate and private equity law, Rathore has worked in the financial planning and analysis sector with global asset management firm D E Shaw and coworking space company WeWork.

Currently operational in Bengaluru and Mumbai, Strata plans to double its team size to over 45 staffers in technology and investor relations. The company claims to have 1,500 users and 150 active investors on the platform. Since inception, Strata has managed funding for three premium assets and has inked a data sharing pact with Propstack. 

It will use the funds to expand to other metro cities and strengthen its platform technology.

Strata competes with players such as NoBroker, Commonfloor, Magic Bricks, Square Yards, 99acres. However, these startups also offer a mix of residential and commercial solutions with rental offerings as well. 

In January, MultiplyMyLeads raised $500,000 in a seed round from Atim Kabra-led private equity firm Frontline Strategy Funds and returning investor SucSEED Venture Partners. In September last year, Reliance Group-backed Square Yards raised $20 million from media house Bennett Coleman & Co Limited (BCCL) and Japanese real estate investment company Genkai Capital.

Founded in 1969, Silicon Valley-based Mayfield has investments in the US, China and India. It has assets under management worth around $219 million in India.

Mayfield invests up to $10 million in seed to Series A stage startups from its two India-centric funds. Some of its India investments include fintech startup LendingKart, tech-enabled food brand Box8, online meat brand Licious, online grocery Milkbasket, e-surveillance platform Securens and B2B payments firm Enkash.

Sector agnostic investor SAIF Partners is Mumbai-based investor and has so far invested in the consumer, education, finance, healthcare internet, IT services and logistics space. Its portfolio comprises startups such as fintech giant PayTM, event management and online ticketing platform BookMyShow, logistics platform Rivigo, online food ordering major Swiggy, social networking app ShareChat.