Culdesac, a US-based developer of pedestrianised urban areas, has secured $30m in a series A round featuring Len X, a corporate venturing subsidiary of homebuilder Lennar, as it aims to remove cars from neighbourhoods.
Venture capital firm Khosla Ventures led the round, which included Founders Fund, Initialized Capital, Byers Capital and Zigg Capital.
Founded in 2018, Culdesac aims to develop housing units linked by walkable areas which maximise space for pedestrians as well as intra-community travel through micro-mobility options such as scooters.
The company will use the proceeds from the round to grow its team as it looks to raise $2bn of real estate capital. It is also bringing ride hailing app developer Lyft’s co-founder John Zimmer and online real estate portal Opendoor’s chief customer officer, Megan Meyer Toolson, on to its board of directors.
Culdesac’s first project, the $200m Culdesac Tempe project, is set to open in the state of Arizona in a few months and is billed as the first car-free community built from scratch in the US, with 1,000 residents.
The company has long-term ambitions to create the first car-free city in the US and already has plans for its next set of neighbourhoods, each of which are slated to be three times the size of Culdesac Tempe.
An increasing number of cities, particularly in Europe, are experimenting with expanding car-free areas, both as an effort to mitigate environmental harm as well as to provide more space for pedestrians that has typically been ceded to roads.
In addition to getting rid of cars, one of the main challenges to getting such areas built has been how to come up with appealing alternatives in terms of urban design and mobility.
Culdesac has also struck partnerships with mobility companies including Lyft, car sharing and vehicle charging service Envoy, light rail operator Valley Metro and electric scooter rental service Bird.
Len X has itself been actively putting money into real estate and property-related startups in recent years having taken part in a $60m equity round for renter loyalty programme provider Bilt Rewards in September 2021. A few weeks later, it participated in another $60m round, a series B for modular building producer Cover.
Other companies in the Len X portfolio include real estate financing service Divvy, smart lock maker Level, 3D home printing technology developer Icon, geothermal heating and cooling system developer Dandelion and short-term accommodation provider Sonder.
Khosla Ventures had previously led a $10m funding round for Culdesac in 2019 with backing from Initialized Capital, Bessemer Venture Partners, Zigg Capital and Y Combinator to support development of Culdesac Tempe, which was initially scheduled to be opened in Autumn of 2020 at a $140m price tag.
Image courtesy of Culdesac.
