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Bengaluru-based home interior solutions company Design Cafe has raised ₹166 crore from WestBridge Capital and Sixth Sense Ventures.
The funding, which includes the ₹50 crore raised earlier as an extension of its Series B round, will be used to expand the business to new cities. Early investor Fireside Ventures also participated in this funding round along with a few family offices.
The company plans to open in the top 10 Indian cities over the next 18 months. It currently has operations in Bengaluru, Mumbai and Hyderabad, with new centres being launched in Chennai and Thane. It also plans to open more experience centres in Bengaluru.
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Shezan Bhojani, CEO and co-founder, Design Cafe, said, “The funds raised will allow us to invest further in technology and people. We are on the cusp of a change in India’s home interior and improvement space and are excited to work together to build a brand that will impact the entire ecosystem in a meaningful way. This includes providing better homes to customers and greater opportunities to designers and trade professionals.”
Sandeep Singhal, co-founder and Managing Director, WestBridge Capital, added, “Home interiors and improvement is a very large opportunity in India and the problem that Design Cafe addresses is a real consumer need today. We’ve been part of their journey for the past few years and have confidence in the team to create an industry-leading brand for home interiors.”
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Founder and CEO of Sixth Sense Ventures, Nikhil Vora said, “Home improvement and design is a $20-billion industry in India, which is completely fragmented and unorganised. Profitability has always been a challenge, but Design Cafe’s focus on standardised modular furniture, vertically integrated manufacturing, and a full-stack tech platform will enable the business to achieve economies of scale... we believe the timing is right for the company to scale the proven model across new geographies.”
Design Cafe targets a gross annual order booking of ₹600-700 crore within two years and aims to build a billion-dollar brand.
Founded in October 2015 by Gita Ramanan and Bhojani, Design Cafe hasa 35,000-sqft factory in Bengaluru that manufactures products for homes that are designed and built from end-to-end in 60 days, with a 10-year warranty. With 800 employees, it currently delivers 150 homes per month.
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