With the well of venture funding running dry due to the global economic downturn, tech startups are battling for their existence. Unfortunately, some buckle under the pressure and eventually have to close their operations and go out of business. One such startup is Zeus Living, a real estate startup backed by Airbnb.
Zeus Living, a property management startup that had secured $150 million from tech investors, informed landlords this week that they are in the process of “winding down operations,” according to an exclusive report from The Information. This shutdown adds to the challenges faced by the real estate tech sector, which is grappling with the impact of rising interest rates. In a similar vein, WeWork, the once high-valued co-working unicorn startup at $47 billion, also filed for bankruptcy this week due to the challenging economic climate.
Zeus Living specializes in leasing and furnishing homes and apartments, subletting them to corporate professionals seeking extended stays in roughly a dozen U.S. cities via its own website and platforms like Airbnb. The company communicated in an email to landlords on Monday that it was experiencing financial difficulties and would no longer be able to make payments on the properties
We covered the short-term home rental startup back in 2019 after it raised $55M Series B from Airbnb and others to grow its portfolio of furnished homes for business and personal travel. The round was backed by Airbnb, Comcast, CEAS Investments, TI Platform Management, and existing investors Alumni Ventures Group, Initialized Capital, NFX, and Spike Ventures.
Founded in 2015 by Joe Wong, Kulveer Taggar, and Srini Panguluri, Zeus Living rents furnished housing properties to startups, students, and companies in the Bay Area, Seattle, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C. It also manages furnished properties on behalf of property owners. Zeus is based in San Francisco and operates in the Bay Area, Los Angeles, New York City, Seattle, and Washington, D.C. To date, Zeus has hosted more than 27,000 residents for a total of 650,000 nights.
Before shutting down, Zeus grew to over 2,000 homes across the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, New York, Seattle, and Washington, D.C. On a year-over-year basis, its portfolio of homes has grown 300%. Zeus will use the funds to continue expanding in major metropolitan areas in the U.S. and globally and to deepen its tech-led approach to the sourcing, pricing, and management of its homes. The company’s technology enables Zeus to offer individuals and enterprise clients that include Brex, Disney, ServiceTitan, and Samsara modern, affordable extended-stay housing tailored to the needs of business travelers.
