The Venture Codex

Participated · Series E · Dec 2022

Founded in 2014 and based in Delhi, Awfis operates coworking and flexible workspace solutions for freelancers through large corporates, claiming over 130 centres and 77,500 seats across 15 cities. Its core product is managed coworking space and related services for companies of varying sizes. Financially, Awfis reported revenue of Rs 257 crore in FY22 (up 44.4% from Rs 178 crore in FY21) while losses rose 33.8% to Rs 57 crore in FY22 from Rs 42.6 crore the prior year. The company has raised around $100 million to date, including a debt round of Rs 40 crore in March 2021, and is currently in an ongoing Series E. Fintrackr estimates a post-money valuation of about $110 million for the current round. Awfis is planning a public listing to raise Rs 500–600 crore next year (both primary and secondary capital) and is arranging a roughly $30 million cash exit for early backers DOIT Urban and RAB India Enterprises. Awfis operates a co-working and managed office platform serving primarily large companies with long-term leases. To adapt to the pandemic it launched Awfis@Home, selling over 1,000 units, and a facility management service called Awfis Care. The company said it had achieved pre-Covid monthly sales, though experts estimate co-working sales have recovered to roughly 50%. In FY20 Awfis reported operating revenue of Rs 226.4 crore, losses of Rs 67.98 crore, and total expenses of Rs 285.47 crore. The firm has previously raised a mix of equity and debt and, including this infusion, has mopped up about $60 million to date. Proceeds from the latest infusion are intended to help streamline operations as the business recovers from pandemic-related disruption. Awfis operates co-working centers across India, offering managed workspaces and mobility solutions for individuals. It runs two models: partnering with landowners to use their workspaces and splitting profits, and serving as a management operator that takes a cut of revenue. The startup operates in nine cities with 63 centers and has capacity for 30,000 people. Customers include Vodafone, Reliance, Hitachi, Zomato and Practo. Awfis plans to use new capital to add about 340 centers to accommodate roughly 170,000 more people within the next one and a half years. The company did not disclose financial performance but said it is aiming to go public in 2022. Awfis operates flexible coworking centers and managed office space, positioning itself as a value-focused alternative to WeWork. The company runs 55 centers housing 25,000 seats and reports a membership base of 15,000. It is expanding beyond central business districts into malls, hotels and other vacant real estate, and also offers traditional office rentals and customized head-office spaces for SMEs. Awfis manages about 55% of its capacity and aims to increase that to 60%. The startup plans to scale to 90–100 centers and 40,000 seats over the next year. It pursues joint-venture style agreements with space owners, where owners provide capex and take a percentage of profits rather than minimum guarantees. Awfis operates a network of collaborative co-working centres offering ready-to-use Pro-Working office spaces and a ‘Just-in-Time’ booking platform. The company transforms under-utilised real estate into shared workspaces and serves entrepreneurs, SMEs, freelancers and corporates. As of the article, Awfis had over 7,500+ seats across 21 centres in eight Indian cities and a community of 5,000+ members. Reported metrics include an average 90%+ occupancy and a network of 500+ client companies. The company plans to expand to 100+ centres with 35,000+ seats across Mumbai, NCR, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Pune within 24 months. Awfis intends to use new funding to grow its centre network, launch new products/services and enhance its technology platform.