Seoul-headquartered KTB has invested in numerous startups, resulting in 270-plus IPOs

KTB Network, a leading Korean VC firm with a presence in Silicon Valley and Shanghai, has led a US$7 million funding round in NoBroker, an online real estate marketplace that connects flat owners and tenants directly with each other by eliminating middle men.

Existing investors SAIF Partners, BEENEXT, and Digital Garage have also participated in the funding.

This is an extension to NoBroker’s Series B round of funding, which was started with a US$10 million announcement early this year.

With this, NoBroker’s total investment raised to date has touched US$20 million. This includes a US$3 million from SAIF and Fulcrum Ventures.

In Pics: Diwali celebrations at online realty startup NoBroker

“These additional funds have put us in a strong position from overall capital perspective. Our aim is to use these funds to expand rapidly and move towards becoming the number one online real estate player in India in terms of closed transactions in next 24 months,” said Akhil Gupta, CTO and Co-founder of NoBroker.

Amit Agarwal, CEO and Co-founder of NoBroker.com, said: “This is special because this is the first time that a Korean fund has led the funding round for an Indian startup. Their Korean startup experiences will help us further with innovative ideas so that we can continue to grow exponentially. We are at an excellent position now in terms of customer growth and financials. Global network of KTB will also aid us in our future global ambitions.”

Launched in March 2014, NoBroker is a brokerage-free real estate portal that claims to have served more than 1.5 million customers to date. As per a statement, the portal adds more than 100,000 new registered customers monthly and witnesses 500,000 customer connections every month.

Last September, NoBroker came under attack from around 40-50 people, allegedly brokers, for “the disruption it is causing in the market”.

KTB Network is one of the oldest VC funds in Korea, with US$1.2 billion assets under management. Since 1981, this Seoul-headquartered fund has invested in numerous startups, resulting in 270-plus IPOs. It is currently led by Justin Shin, a veteran investor with 30 years of venture capital experience.

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Image Credit: NoBroker.com

 

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