Indian startup that is improving the way millions of people in the nation lease or buy an apartment is the latest firm to become a unicorn in the South Asian market. Bangalore-based NoBroker has raised $210 million in its Series E financing round. Tiger Global and General Atlantic, two existing investors, and Moore Strategic Ventures co-led the eight-year-old startup’s Series E financing round. The round values NoBroker, which has raised $361 million to date and counts Elevation Capital and Paytm founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma among its investors, at $1 billion, up from about $350 million in April 2020. There was no secondary transaction — that is, sales of shares by any existing investors including the founders — in the new funding round.
NoBroker helps people looking to buy or lease an apartment avoid brokers, thus avoiding brokerage fees. The startup operates in several major Indian cities, including Bangalore, Delhi, Pune, and Hyderabad. The startup has more than 7.5 million properties listed on its platform and over 16 million people have used its services. Over the years, NoBroker has expanded to several additional categories, including financial services (to offer customers help with securing the rent, for instance), and home services such as cleaning, fulfilling furniture needs and movers and packers. These services are also independently available to customers who have not rented or bought a place from NoBroker platform. NoBroker now also operates a service, called NoBrokerhood, that is aimed at communities to stay connected and manage and keep track of visitors. NoBrokerhood, which also allows society residents to buy and sell items from each other, competes with some of the offerings of MyGate, which is also backed by Tiger Global.