Alejandro Artacho, co-founder and CEO of Spotahome. Image: Spotahome
Proptech Spotahome is planning to open the door into to other markets.
Madrid-based Spotahome has raised $40m in a Series B funding round led by Kleiner Perkins.
This is the first-ever investment by the Silicon Valley firm in a Spanish company and its fifth in Europe if you include Spotify and GoEuro.
Spotahome, a proptech start-up aimed at mid to long-term residential property rentals, was a previous Start-up of the Week on Siliconrepublic.com.
Founded in 2014 by Alejandro Artacho, Bruno Bianchi, Bryan McEire and Hugo Monteiro, Spotahome has generated €60m total contract value for landlords.
“To be the first Spanish start-up Kleiner Perkins has invested in is a proud moment for the entire team,” said Artacho.
“It reaffirms our mission and strengthens our resolve to continue revolutionising the real estate industry for both consumers and property professionals. Our partnership with Kleiner Perkins represents a milestone for the Spanish entrepreneurial ecosystem, which has a wealth of creative talent that is poised to develop exceptional technology companies in the years ahead.”
Room to improve
Prior to this investment, Spotahome previously closed a €13.6m Series A round from investors including Passion Capital, Nordic Makers, Samos Investments and Mexico Ventures.
Via app or website, users can rent a flat, house, room or student residence instantly. This experience is supported by HD video tours, high-quality 360-degree photos, detailed floor plans, and expansive descriptions of properties and their neighbourhoods.
Further validation is provided by Spotahome’s Homecheckers – local professionals who visit each property to inspect, verify and communicate the conditions of the home to prospective tenants worldwide.
Earlier this year, Spotahome announced the acquisition of Erasmusu, Europe’s largest online community of international Erasmus students.
This transaction prompted the formation of The Spotahome Group, which has a portfolio of 130,000 properties across 450 cities in 65 countries with more than 3m monthly users.
The new funding round will be used by Spotahome to grow its executive team and expand into new markets.
“Spotahome has skilfully digitised and scaled a large, but traditionally cumbersome, apartment rental industry,” said Mood Rowghani, general partner at Kleiner Perkins.
“By introducing innovative features such as on-site Homecheckers, instant bookings, tenant community forums and an international payments platform, the company makes finding and listing an apartment simple and hassle-free.”
