Startup Isthara raises USD 10 million to expand co-living, food court biz

Co-living and food court operator Isthara has raised USD 10 million (around Rs 82 crore) from investors to expand its business, its MD Gilbert James said.

Isthara, which was founded in 2017, has raised fresh funding from investors led by Dubai-based Eagle Investments.

It has so far raised USD 21 million, including this fresh round of funding.

Coimbatore-based Isthara currently has capacity of around 25,000 beds, catering to working professionals and students, across seven cities.

It is running 50 food courts at educational institutions and office complexes across multiple locations for captive customers.

"We have raised USD 10 million as growth capital. The amount will be used to expand our co-living and smart food court businesses," James told PTI.

In the next three years, he said the company is targeting to reach 50,000 beds and 500 food courts with the help of this current round of fund raise.

James, who is also promoter, said the company will enter into retail food court space.

At present, it is only operating an institutional food court or cafeteria space.

"We will open food courts at malls, high street locations and highways," he said.

Asked about revenue and profit, James did not disclose the numbers but said the monthly run rate has doubled in the last one year.

"We are profitable at the unit level in both the businesses. We are yet to be profitable at corporate level, as we continue to invest in technology and growth," he said.

Isthara aims to become the market leader in the food court business, where it acts as aggregators and brings established and new brands to one platform.

With the company's foray into the B2C food retail segment, James said the company would be able to widen the customer base and not be limited by a captive audience as is the case with institutional cafeterias.

Founded by Gilbert James and Vijayan Krishna Kumar in 2017, Isthara is operating around 25,000 beds across seven cities -- Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Gurugram, Pondicherry, Tirupati and Rajahmundry (Andhra Pradesh).

In 2020, the company ventured into the food court business.

James said the company would continue to revolutionize the highly fragmented co-living and food court segment.

In September 2021, Isthara raised a round of funding from existing investors JM Financial Private Equity, along with Dubai-based Eagle Proprietary Investments and a few family offices.