CommonFloor raises up to $12 mn from Google Capital

Company backed by Tiger Global and Accel Partners raised close to $10-12 mn in in this round, say sources

Online real estate platform CommonFloor.com on Thursday said it has raised an undisclosed amount of funding from Google Capital, the internet giant's late-stage growth equity fund.

While the Bengaluru-based company refused to share details on the quantum of funds, sources close to the development said the investment was in the range of $10 million - $12 million (Rs 63-75 crore).

With this investment, David Lawee, partner at Google Capital, will join the board of CommonFloor.com.

This is Google Capital's third investment in Asia, and second in a company that runs significant operations from India. The fund had earlier invested in FreshDesk, that enables companies to provide multichannel support through phone, email, chat, website, social networks and mobile applications. While FreshDesk is registered in the US, it has significant operations from India.

“We are very hopeful that we will be able to leverage Google's technology and operational expertise,” CommonFloor Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer Sumit Jain said.

“This investment shows that Google Capital believes in CommonFloor and our vision to transform the real estate market in India. We look forward to drawing on the technical and operational expertise of Google Capital's partners and advisers as we continue to scale our business.”

Founded in 2007 by Sumit Jain, Lalit Mangal and Vikas Malpani, CommonFloor has so far raised around $50 million in three funding rounds from Tiger Global Management and Accel Partners. In September 2014, the company had raised $30 million from Tiger Global Management.

The funds raised by Google Capital will be used for investments in product, technology and marketing, Jain said.

“We are well capitalised but we are investing heavily in technology, product and marketing. We will use these funds to innovate in all these three. You will see a lot of new things coming up and CommonFloor helping people take informed decisions about property,” Jain said.

Investors have been bullish on online real estate paltforms mainly because of the Indian government's goal of providing housing for all by 2022. To achieve the goal the government has is allocating a budget of Rs 4,000 crore for affordable housing, introducing incentives for infrastructure financing by the Reserve Bank of India.