Proptech firm Aurum is acquiring NestAway, a once high-flying Indian startup operating in the same space, for up to $10.9 million, in a deal that marks a near complete erosion in value for the startup’s investors.
Eight-year-old NestAway raised $115 million over the years and was valued at $227 million in a funding round in 2019. The startup counts Tiger Global, Goldman Sachs, Yuri Milner and Chiratae Ventures among its investors.
Aurum, which earlier acquired a unit of NestAway for about $6.8 million, said it will invest $3.6 million to stabilize NestAway’s business. “This capital infusion in NestAway is a testament to Aurum PropTech’s conviction in India’s $20-billion Rental Housing market,” Aurum said in a stock exchange filing.
NestAway’s revenue shrank to $3 million in 2022, down from $9.5 million two years earlier.
The erosion in NestAway’s value can at least be partially attributed to COVID. The home rental platform NestAway features 18,000 properties on its platform, down from 50,000 before the pandemic.
“When we started NestAway, our vision was to revolutionize the way people live in cities by providing them with convenient, affordable and hassle-free housing solutions,” said Jitendra Jagadev, founder of NestAway, in a statement. “Over the years, we have grown and expanded, serving thousands of customers, becoming a trusted brand in the PropTech industry.”