Roomi hits 1 million users and raises $11 million to grow its shared housing marketplace

Roomi, a peer-to-peer marketplace for finding roommates, has raised $11 million in a series A round of funding led by Atami Capital, with participation from Rosecliff Ventures, Townsquare Media, JXC Ventures, DCM, and Great Oaks Venture Capital.

Founded out of New York in 2013, Roomi enables anyone to find shared housing in their desired area, with filters available based on move-in dates, duration, and amenities such as “couples ok,” “air conditioning,” “gym,” and more. Similarly, leaseholders can use the platform to easily list any empty rooms they have, if a roommate vacates.

Roomi had previously raised around $6 million in outside funding, and the company said that it plans to use this latest cash influx to expand its presence across the U.S. and further afield.

“We decided to invest in Roomi because shared housing is a growing global trend and is becoming a lifestyle choice for Generation Z and Millennials,” explained Brian Epp, Atami Capital’s head of direct investments. “We believe Roomi is the clear market leader in peer-to-peer shared housing in NYC and we intend to support Roomi to expand further in the U.S. and globally.”

In addition to its $11 million raise, Roomi is also opening an equity-based crowdfunding campaign via Republic, where they’re inviting anyone to buy shares, with a view toward raising another $1 million.

Flexible housing

Roomi officially launched in 2015, and it managed to garner 100,000 downloads in its first year. As of today, the startup claims one million registered users and around 250,000 listed apartments on its platform. Certainly, with property becoming more expensive to buy in major cities such as New York and San Francisco, and people seeking flexibility as they move from job to job, shared housing is the most practical and affordable means of living for many people. Elsewhere, California-based HubHaus, a platform designed to help working professionals find shared housing, recently raised $1.4 million.

“The future of living is going to be shared living,” predicted Roomi CEO and founder Ajay Yadav. “Millennials aren’t buying homes. Gen Z-ers probably won’t be buying homes. Living with roommates isn’t just a trend — flexible living and shared housing is becoming the norm. People want access to commitment-free, immediate, verified shared housing options, and Roomi wants to lead the way by make renting with roommates safer and easier than ever before.”