Smartworks Receives $25 Million Funding from Keppel Land Ltd.

Co-working firm, Smartworks Coworking Space Pvt. Ltd has recently secured $25 million funding from Singapore-based realty company, Keppel Land Ltd. The office-sharing firm has its presence in nine major cities in India--Kolkata, Noida, Pune, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru, Delhi, and Gurgaon. 

Strong economic fundamentals, growing urbanization, and the government’s pro-business policies have led to India attracting an influx of foreign investment across all sectors, in particular, the property market. Leasing activity in the commercial real estate segment rose by 40 per cent year-on-year (y-o-y), crossing 30 million sf in the first half of 2019, the highest recorded, and is poised to reach 50 million sf by end-2019. Within this segment, the flexible space market has risen by 52 per cent y-o-y in the first half of 2019, the company stated in its press release statement. 

Smartworks offers customized-spaces to their enterprise clientele in four to six weeks, rendering a wide range of solutions at a value price point without charging any additional capital expenses. 

“The flexible space segment in India has been growing rapidly, and Smartworks has been an active participant in this business over the past three years, with a large and widespread network across nine cities. Smartworks is also already cash flow positive and is profitable at a consolidated level. With this strategic investment by Keppel Land, we will be able to scale up even more rapidly across India’s Tier 1 and Tier 2 cities and further invest in building up our next generation product, improving client experiences, as well as boosting our talent and technology,” Neetish Sarda, Founder of Smartworks, said in the company’s statement. 

Offering Office Space Solutions 

Smartworks gives standardized services in all its bureaus across India. Cafeterias, gymnasiums, meeting spaces, first-aid clinics, and training rooms are some of the services that the co-working firm renders to the clientele. 

The Delhi-based co-working firm is also the foremost space provider in India to employ a human-robot for carrying out operational responsibilities. 

“Smartworks’ innovative business model, coupled with its strong knowledge of the Indian enterprise office segment and execution abilities, is highly scalable and relevant, particularly in India’s growing market for commercial office spaces. This investment allows Keppel Land to enter one of the world’s fastest-growing flexible office markets, opening doors for further growth through this collaboration,” Tan Swee Yiow, CEO of Keppel Land, said in the company’s press statement. 

“There are also many opportunities for cross-learning and collaboration between Smartworks and Keppel Land’s smart serviced co-office platform, KLOUD, which currently has a presence in Singapore, Vietnam, and Myanmar,” Yiow added. 

Smartworks was established by Harsh Binani and Neetish Sarda in April 2016. Currently, the firm has 23 operational centers in nine Indian cities rendering an aggregate of around 43,000 workstations covered across 2.3 million square feet. Its bureaus presently cater to more than 400 firms, encompassing big enterprises and startups like Bacardi Ltd, Ernst and Young, Amazon Web Services, Jaguar Land Rover Automotive PLC, DHL, Red Hat, Samsung, Microsoft Corporation, and Petronash. 

In the offing, it decides to expand its presence to 20 million sq. feet and render office solutions to more than 2 million working professionals.