Starcity launched in 2016 to create affordable co-living spaces and has grown to 12 locations across San Francisco, Oakland and Los Angeles. The company provides fully furnished private bedrooms and bathrooms with expanded communal areas, offering rents in the $1,000–$2,000 range and discounts of roughly 20–30% versus new apartments. Starcity owns its spaces and operates as both a developer and operator with in‑house development, design, and management capabilities. It offers a resident app to foster community and is positioning itself as a lifestyle brand while experimenting with cost-saving construction methods like offsite assembly. The company is working on a San Francisco project to accommodate 270 people and on initiatives to make units accessible to minimum-wage workers. During the COVID crisis Starcity increased cleaning, moved tours and events online, waived termination fees for residents in hardship, enacted payment-relief programs, and implemented cost cuts including a small furlough but no layoffs; the team size is about 40. For future developments it relies on venture capital for expansion and limited partners and lenders to finance property projects, targeting high‑teens to low‑20s IRR for developments. Starcity converts underutilized multi-family, hotel, and office buildings into residential co-living properties designed to add housing stock without displacing current residents. The company will use the new funds to develop a boutique multifamily building at 1854 McAllister Street into a 10-unit Starcity community in San Francisco's NOPA neighborhood. Starcity currently owns and manages four properties across San Francisco and has nine more communities under development. In the last 18 months the company has raised more than $20M in venture financing from investors including Bullpen Capital, NEA, Social Capital and Y Combinator. It also has arrangements with institutional real estate partners to participate as investors in some larger properties. The company employs 28 people in San Francisco.

Total raised

$31M

Funding rounds

2

Latest round

Series B

Latest activity

Apr 2020