Room rental marketplace secures multi-million pound Series B funding

Today (January 10), Badi, a room-rental marketplace aiming to make city living accessible, has announced a $30m Series B, led by Goodwater Capital.

The firm is a US-based consumer tech VC firm that previously invested in companies like Spotify, Twitter and Facebook. This new round will bring Badi’s funding up to $45m.

Chi-Hua Chien, co-founder of Goodwater Capital, said: “We are extremely excited to partner with badi in their mission to solve the looming urban housing crisis - there simply aren’t enough homes in cities and housing has become too expensive.

“Badi provides a unique end-to-end rental platform that builds trust and convenience directly into the customer experience, which has enabled them to unlock thousands of new rooms in cities around the world.”

In this last round, Shmuel Chafets from Target Global VC has also participated along with returning VCs Mangrove Capital and Spark Capital.

Real estate is the largest commodity in the world, with an estimated $217tn valuation. Home ownership in Europe has collapsed within 20 years, so more and more people are looking for non-binding and flexible accommodation to rent out.

Badi’s CEO and founder Carlos Pierre, added: “I believe there is a huge opportunity to make flat renting much more efficient worldwide.

“By 2050, the total population living in cities will increase from 54 per cent to 66 per cent. There will likely be a shortage of homes for people looking to live in cities and as a result, this will lead to an increase in smaller living units or rooms. This is where Badi comes in.”

Badi has already championed London as one of the most important cities to invest in, largely due to it being continually named as Europe’s most expensive city to rent over the past few years.

Mark Tluszcz, CEO of Mangrove Capital Partners, concluded: “I am extremely excited to be part of badi’s future and to contribute in building an innovative real estate marketplace.

“It has been a pleasure to work closely with their fantastic management team as it embarks on its expansion strategy in Europe.”

The new capital will enable the company to consolidate its services in Barcelona, Madrid, London, Paris and Rome and open new markets in major European cities starting with Berlin.