Silkhaus Raises $7.75 Million In Seed Funding Round

Updated on: 23 November 2022 12:56 am

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Silkhaus a platform for short-term property rentals has raised a $7.75 million seed round. The UAE-headquartered start-up is building technology that provides asset owners with tools to monetise and manage their properties as short-term rentals.

Other investors who joined this round included Nuwa Capital, Nordstar, Global Founders Capital, Yuj Ventures, Whiteboard Capital and VentureSouq. The international family offices, business leaders, and several global proptech entrepreneurs have also joined this round.

Founded in 2021 by Aahan Bhojani and Ashmin Varma, Silkhaus claims to have grown over 10x through the past year while operating in stealth mode. A graduate of Harvard Business School and Yale College, chief executive officer Bhojani has previously worked across management consulting, investment banking and product management, in roles that require extensive travel. Realising that leisure and business travel preferences had changed, he founded Silkhaus to reimagine accommodation experiences for medium and long-stay travel across high-growth emerging markets.

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The start-up has identified a $13 billion total addressable market (TAM) across the Middle East, North Africa (MENA), South Asia, and Southeast Asia to unlock growth opportunities for asset owners. Guests booking a stay with Silkhaus can easily access well-maintained properties, elevating their experience, whether they are traveling for business or leisure.

“The nature of real estate has fundamentally changed over the last decade, particularly over the course of the pandemic. Hospitality and online rental platforms have been restricted only to aggregating online demand for alternative accommodation. As travelers have sought flexible stays, we have witnessed the global rise of short-term rentals. However, the management of these properties is highly fragmented and largely offline. Property owners lack the technology and know-how to deliver a world-class and standardised experience. We are building the operating system for property owners - large or small - to operate high quality short-term rentals and deliver memorable guest experiences. With the backing of our global investors, we are excited to build Silkhaus into a global category leader,” said Bhojani.

Following this investment, Silkhaus will accelerate its expansion across its target regions. The company is building its technology stack under the guidance of Ashmin Varma who previously developed technologies for global proptechs.

As part of its mission to make short-term rentals more accessible to diverse audiences, Silkhaus develops tools to optimise revenue and streamline operations for property owners. Silkhaus’ operating system provides consistency, transparency, and reliability to property owners, allowing them to list multiple or single units on the platform with an average revenue yield increase between 20 - 40%.

“Our investment in Silkhaus, alongside global technology and strategic investors, reflects our belief in the future of accommodation solutions and Silkhaus’s ability to operationalise and scale the affinity that customers will expect of the Silkahus brand. Aahan and Ashmin have differentiated themselves in the right ways with an early emphasis on solid unit economics, market-leading NPS, and a value add for all of their stakeholders, including guests and property owners,” said Nitin Reen, partner at Nuwa Capital.

“We are excited to see Silkhaus emerge as the leading platform for short-term rentals across Asia, and in particular excited to partner with Aahan and his team who in a short time have proven their ability to disrupt two large and fragmented industries: real estate and hospitality. In Silkhaus we found a product that is loved and recognized by property owners, travellers and enterprises alike, and are tapping into the rapid growth of short-term rentals in emerging markets," added Ole Ruch, managing partner at Nordstar.

Having raised its seed round, the company will now focus on the growing the global supply on its platform to keep up with demand from guests. Silkhaus anticipates its market opportunity to grow to $18 billion by 2026, across MENA, South Asia, and Southeast Asia.