US-based office space provider Knotel raised $25m in a series A round on Wednesday that included e-commerce holding group Rocket Internet and media company Bloomberg’s corporate venturing unit, Bloomberg Beta.
Invest AG, the investment arm of financial services firm Raiffeisen’s bank group of Upper Austria, also participated, as did venture capital firm 500 Startups and assorted angel investors.
Knotel operates a network of customised offices that companies can lease as their headquarters without long-term commitments. Knotel does not own the majority of these offices but instead connects potential tenants with landlords through a managed marketplace.
The network currently spans ten locations across New York but the series A capital will enable the addition of another 40 spaces over the next year.
Roy Bahat, head of Bloomberg Beta, said: “Fast-growing companies need an entirely new kind of workplace experience than plain offices provide. Knotel can offer that new workplace experience, for that new kind of company.
“There is a clear opportunity to build a grand-scale business on Knotel’s platform.”