Stanza Living, a New Delhi-based startup that operates an online platform that offers students accommodation, has received around ₹12.8 crore ($2 million) in its funding round, which was led by Matrix Partners and Accel Partners.
With new capital coming in, the company will use the money to expand its presence in new cities and to further develop its technology platform. A portion of the funding will also be spent on talent acquisition.
The company is now looking to expand its reach beyond Delhi/NCR to other educational hubs across the country. The startup is now aiming to increase the number of students on its platform from the current 100 to over 5,000.
Commenting on the development, Gourav Bhattacharya, VP at Matrix Partners India said,
Today, students in India aspire for a higher level of safety, comfort and a feeling of community at their existing accommodation options. Stanza Living’s approach to creating a home away from home for students, is a compelling value proposition that we expect will see rapid adoption from parents and students across the country.
A spokesperson for the company said:
We, at Stanza, see a massive disruption opportunity in this industry. We believe we could create a powerful youth brand that could organize the student accommodation market in ways similar to how the Hiltons and Marriotts of the world transformed the hospitality space.
Stanza Living was founded earlier this year by former Boston Consulting Group executive Sandeep Dalmia and Anindya Dutta. The company describes itself as a technology-enabled student accommodation concept that puts the student as a consumer at the heart of its product and service design.
Anindya Dutta, co-founder of the company, said that the company is currently building another 300 housing spaces focused on students. He further stated. He further added that the company does not as a PG/rental aggregator, but instead focus on student accommodation services loaded with all facilities like internet connectivity, recreational spaces, housekeeping, and food services.