Airattix, a public storage marketplace for both retail and industrial renting, is looking for external investors to raise around USD 1 million (around Rs 7.6 crore) in a pre-series round, a top company official said.
           
Airattix, promoted by Pune-based supply chain firm Imperial Logistics, claims to be the first and the only marketplace for public storage where people can list and rent out their vacant storage spaces/rooms and parking slots. Customers can book them on a monthly or quarterly basis or for long-term.

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The startup, started by Aditya Kale, the founder and chief executive of Imperial Logistics, recently roped in Oyo Hotels & Homes for parking and storage spaces under which the hospitality aggregator sublets its vacant rooms and parking lots. 

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It also has on-board many commercial property owners and public storage facility players like Your Space Doctor in Mumbai, Storemore in Noida, Safe Storage in Bengaluru, Dorabajee & Sons in Pune, and Abhiruchi Mall in Pune, among others, taking the total area listed to around 1 million sq ft, Kale told PTI in an interaction.

Kale, a naval engineer-turned-entrepreneur, said he is looking at raising around USD 1 million from external investors and is ready to dilute 15-20 per cent of his equity for the same. Already, he has sounded out a few domestic venture capital funds and will soon be talking to some overseas players as well. 

 Airattix.com, though launched in 2018, went live only in the peak of the lockdowns, thus getting a lot of traction instantly.

On the revenue model, he said it charges 10 per cent of the rent agreed upon as service charge and the parking facility also offers service/ maintenance at a premium. 

The company has a valuation of Rs 20 crore and expects to close this fiscal with a gross merchandise value of Rs 5 crore. 

Though around 1 million sq ft of space is listed on its platform, only around 500 tenants are live, he said. 

The parent company Imperial Logistics was set up by him in 2012, and it owns and manages over 1 million sq ft warehouse and storage space across key cities. It focuses on five industry verticals of automotive, industrial, FMCG, pharma and food. 

 Imperial also specialises in providing e-commerce order fulfilment solutions and manages online orders for Amazon, Flipkart, Meesho, Shopify and Myntra, among others. PTI