Placio raises USD 2 mn to expand student housing biz

Placio, a student housing start- up, today said it has raised USD 2 million from Singapore- based private equity fund Prestellar Ventures for expansion.
Founded in April 2016, Placio offers modern and secured concept of co-living. The digital platform curates modern living spaces, fully-furnished rooms, private rooms and personal apartments in localities around university campuses.
Placio is incubated by Amity Business incubator and it currently manages more than 15 properties.
The company said in a statement that it has "raised pre- series 'A' funding from Prestellar Ventures for USD 2 million to provide superior student living experience in India and South-East Asia."

With help of this fund, Placio plans to acquire more beds to provide a seamless technology platform to students with features such as hostel management system, roommate matching and search and value added services like food ordering, booking of events, CRM system and in-house mobile wallet.
"The total number of beds in campus housing and private hostels currently available in India is close to 6.1 million. There is an immense untapped market with 50 million students studying in colleges and universities and 60-65 per cent students studying outside their home town," the statement said.

With the funding now in place from Prestellar Ventures, Placio intends to capitalise on this large potential market.

"Student housing is an interesting growth sector, as there is an immense undersupply of such purpose-built accommodation in India.
"Our vision is to entirely redefine 'student living' by creating boundary-blurring spaces and colourful experiences to connect and thrive in smart design co-living. This, we believe will change the way the students live and study for academic success," said Rohit Pateria, Co-Founder and CEO, Placio.
Placio was founded by Rohit Pateria, a CA with 18 years of work experience, and Ankush Arora, a post graduate in hospitality having 17 years of working experience. Atul Kumar Singh joined the start-up after Placio acquired his venture Click-a-Home Services.