LifeX raises €7.5m seed funding for its Nordic co-living business

11 Oct 2019

A group of people sit around a long table eating dinner.

An example of the residents in a LifeX property. Image: LifeX

LifeX is offering rooms for young professionals in co-living spaces in Paris, London and Berlin, among other cities.

On Friday (11 October), Copenhagen-based proptech start-up LifeX announced that it has raised €7.5m in seed financing, in a round led by Cherry Ventures and Founders.

There was additional participation in the financing from a variety of European angel investors including David Helgason, founder of Unity; Hampus Jakobsson, founder of TAT; Sophia Bendz, Spotify’s first head of marketing; and Evan Darr, partner at Invesco. Menlo Park-based TriplePoint Capital also contributed to the funding round.

A woman in blue denim jeans and black high heels sits with her legs crossed, wearing a grey jumper, beside a man in blue jeans and a black t-shirt who is wearing no shoes. They are sitting in a bright, modern, white room with Nordic furniture.

From left: LifeX founders Ritu Jain and Sune Theodorsen. Image: LifeX

The co-living firm targets young professionals moving to a new city, offering them Scandinavian-style accommodation in locations across a number of European cities. It is currently available in Copenhagen, Berlin, London, Paris, Munich and Vienna.

The business was founded in 2017 by Sune Theodorsen and Ritu Jain. It now has 300 members, offering a living arrangement reminiscent of a WeWork membership.

In a statement LifeX said that its business model “makes settling in a new city much easier as it pre-packages everything you need to quickly feel at home”.

“From beautifully styled apartments with Nordic design furniture in the very best locations, to the convenience of weekly cleaning and flexible membership terms to an embedded community of young professionals.”

Ten chairs tucked into a dining table underneath two large lampshades. The room is white and very bright, with a bookcase on the back wall and plants dotted around the room.

An example of a dining area in a LifeX property. Image: LifeX

On the company’s website, prices begin at €725 per person per month for a bedroom in a property Vienna, €1,300 in Paris, £1,300 in London and €1,000 per month in Berlin. Each property comes with a €1,000 to €1,500 deposit fee, as well as the requirement to pay the final month’s rent up front.

Each property houses between four to eight people, who share a kitchen and living space.

Plans for growth

Jain, who acts as COO of the company, said: “LifeX comes from our own problem. While moving from San Francisco to Copenhagen, we struggled to find a place to call home. In the end, we decided to try and rent a big flat in the city centre, make it into a beautiful Nordic-style home and see if anyone was interested in sharing it.

“We told a few of our co-workers about it and the first home was full in a matter of days. That was just two years ago. Now we have more than 50 co-living homes in six European cities, a thriving and happy community of international members. We’re planning to grow to more than 80 homes and seven cities by the end of this year.”

The company has been working with start-ups such as N26, Pleo and Delivery Hero, in order to help foreign talent find comfortable homes in new cities.

Christian Meermann, founding partner of Cherry Ventures, said: “We are reminded about the problem LifeX is solving on a daily basis. Our portfolio of growing start-ups like Flixbus are all struggling with helping their new talent settle in a city like Berlin.

“LifeX combines Nordic sense of design with an inclusive community and convenience, which makes it a perfect home for anyone who’s new to a city. We are super thrilled to partner with LifeX.”