In 2021, we noticed several startups gobble up insane quantities of dollars to enter the unicorn membership – this covered a report variety of newly minted unicorns from India itself. While this yr has mostly been characterized by way of fear of a financial recession, plummeting stocks, layoffs, and a funding crunch, we have viewed countless startups evolve into unicorns, in particular at the start of the year.
But seldom have we considered a startup breach the $1 billion barrier even earlier than it has launched and commenced operations. And surprisingly, this is precisely what occurred with WeWork’s controversial founder Adam Neumann’s new venture, Flow. The residential actual property business enterprise reined in around $350 million from task capital company Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), which places the valuation of the association at $1 billion.
According to the New York Times, this cheque to Flow is the biggest one that a16z has reduced for a spherical of funding to date. It is additionally the 2nd backing that a16z has given to an enterprise-centered by using Neumann this yr – the first one was once his blockchain-based carbon deposit platform Flowcarbon in May.
“We recognize how tough it is to construct something like this, and we love seeing repeat-founders construct on previous successes through developing from classes learned,” Andreessen wrote in a weblog post. “For Adam, the successes and classes are plenty, and we are excited to go on this ride with him and his colleagues constructing the future of living
The clean capital will without a doubt assist Flow in its mission to tackle the housing disaster in the US. Its ambitions to grant a suitable housing trip throughout a chain of branded condominium complexes and community-centric offerings in condo homes as soon as it launches the subsequent year.
“We anticipate it is natural that for his first assignment due to the truth that WeWork, Adam returns to the theme of connecting human beings through redesigning their bodily areas and constructing communities the place human beings spend the most time: their homes.”
“We are overjoyed through the scope and aspiration of this project,” Andreesen wrote in the weblog post.“It is now not lacking in innovative and prescient or ambition, alternatively completely initiatives with such lofty goals have a threat at altering the world.”
Neumann has already bought several – over 3000 to be greater particular – residential gadgets throughout the States – in Atlanta, Fort Lauderdale (Florida), Miami, and Nashville (Tennessee). You may additionally understand him from his time with WeWork, which used to be a separate can of worms. Neumann’s tenure at the helm of the organization noticed a failed preliminary public offering, big losses, and laying off lots of people earlier than it grew to become a frequent prevalence this year.
