Co-living brand Isthara raises $10 Mn in fresh round

Isthara, a premium co-living brand and smart food court firm, has raised $10 million or Rs 81 crore in its new round led by Dubai-based Eagle Investments. With this round,  Isthara’s total funding stands at $21 million.  

The proceeds will be used to foray into the B2C retail food court space and expand its presence in the co-living sector, Isthara said in a press release. Additionally, the funding will also be utilized to double bed capacity in the co-Living and student accommodation segments to around 50,000 beds by 2025. 

In the next three years, Isthara plans to expand its food court business by ten times to 500 food courts spread over 30 cities, serving a million people each month. The Hyderabad-based company subscribed to 50 food courts across the country in 2020 since it entered a new sector of the digitised smart food court business. 

Founded in 2017 by Gilbert James Laurduraj, Isthara provides fully-furnished shared-living accommodation for working professionals and students, along with a host of amenities such as daily meals, Wi-Fi connectivity, gym facilities, laundry and housekeeping services, among others.

In September 2021, Isthara raised funds from existing investors JM Financial Private Equity, along with Dubai-based Eagle Proprietary Investments and a few family offices. Recently, the company acquired software product engineering firm Letsmobility to digitize operations and introduce advanced tech solutions in the co-living and institutional cafeteria sectors.