TULU, a proptech company that provides tenants with household appliances, groceries and devices in multifamily apartment buildings, raised $5 million in a post-Series A investment round led by Regeneration.VC, according to a press release.
The funding is intended to expand the company’s partnerships with property owners and consumer brands, and expand its geographic footprint with a more robust data capability. It is also stated plans to take “environmental and circular consumption”-focused initiatives across its locations worldwide.
The funding is an add-on to its recent $20 million Series A led by VC New Era Capital Partners in April, bringing the company’s total funding raised to over $25 million. Participating investors include VC Trifare, UMTB and existing investors like New Era Capital Partners, Bosch, Kärcher, Round Hill Ventures, Tal Ventures, AGP Partners and Good Company.
TULU already has notable ongoing partnerships and investments, with a number of notable property management firms integrating TULU’s platform into their buildings to provide resident service, including Greystar Real Estate Partners, Brookfield Asset Management, Invesco, RXR Realty, Silverstein Properties and CA Ventures.
TULU’s IoT-based service units give tenants access to household appliances like “vacuums, VR headsets, printing services, e-scooters, bikes,” among other supplies. Users can rent or purchase these products through the company’s app.
Bosch, Kärcher, Hoover and Dremel are also partnering to gain customer insights, expand physical and digital exposure to new consumers and gain user behavior data, according to the release.
Currently, the company says it serves 50,000 people across 18 cities in the United States and other countries such as the United Kingdom, Netherlands, Germany, Spain and Israel.
“We don’t think that in today’s economy every single apartment needs to own all of the stuff that is barely used,” co-founder Yael Shemer told Business Insider. “On the building side, we’re starting to centralize the demands for the basic needs of people. You need to clean, you need to cook, you need to host; what are the items that you need for that?”
Lehavi used the example of owning a car, and the ownership value that once prevailed, to explain the need for Tulu’s services. Today, millennials and Gen Z want to travel in an affordable and convenient way without owning a car. The company wants to use this mindset to convert everyday items into such a service.
The company has also partnered with Bosch, Kärcher, Hoover, and Dremel, according to their website. Moreover, it says Greystar Real Estate Partners, Brookfield Asset Management, Invesco, RXR Realty, Silverstein Properties and CA Ventures are integrating its systems into their buildings, the release claims.
Bodega is another example proptech serving the consumer space via integrated storefronts, providing smart kiosks resembling convenience stores in apartment buildings. In 2018, the company changed its name to Stockwell after receiving backlash for trying to replace a corner store by the same name.
“The market we’re going after is some combination of the grocery, gym market, and everyday essentials. Eventually, what we see is a world where you don’t have to go to the 30,000 square foot stores. Instead, we distribute the store based on products you buy once a week or month,” Paul McDonald, co-founder and CEO of Stockwell, had then told TechCrunch.
In other recent proptech news, real estate proptech startup DeedPath announced its save-to-own program, launched in the spring of 2022, that will aim to make buying investment properties more accessible with a lower down payment and credit requirements. Rook Capital, a proptech focused on solving home affordability and widening homeownership, secured a $4.1 million capital fundraise and access to a warehouse credit facility last week.