Hmlet, a Singapore-headquartered co-living startup has raised USD 40 million in a Series B round led by Burda Principal Investments.
The round was also joined by Sequoia India who led Hmlet’s Series A last year and new investors, Mitsubishi Estate Co and Reinventure Group. Some unnamed angel investors also joined this round, according to a company statement.
The fresh funds will be used to boost its growth in existing markets Singapore, Hong Kong, and Sydney. Hmlet revealed that it is launching new spaces in Melbourne, Brisbane, and Tokyo.
This funding round is less than 12 months after Hmlet raised USD 6.5 million in its Series A round in November 2018. The CEO of Hmlet, Yoan Kamalski attributed this achievement to the alignment of its model with the market demand.
Founded in Singapore in 2016, the co-living operator has more than 75 locations across Singapore, Hong Kong, and Australia. Hmlet currently manages 1,500 beds and aims to increase that to 2,400 by the end of 2019.
The co-living concept is quickly taking off due to the changing lifestyle needs of today’s young working professionals and many types of co-living spaces are mushrooming across Southeast Asia.
Some are co-working operators like Indonesia’s Livit Spaces and CoHive, and Thailand’s KoHub who are adding living spaces to their service. But there are also independent co-living providers like AngkorHub in Cambodia and Co-Coon in Malaysia.
Meanwhile, there are also Roam and Outpost who put a twist on the co-living concept—these operators manage spaces outside of city centers bringing peripatetics to what are normally vacation destinations.
Hmlet is considered to be a pioneer in the co-living sector in Singapore.