Zeus Living

Zeus Living, a property management startup that raised $150 million from tech investors, was winding down operations in November 2023.¹²³⁶⁸ The company, founded in 2015, provided furnished homes for extended stays and was backed by investors including Airbnb, Initialized Capital, and Y Combinator.^234691516 Zeus Living struggled financially and told landlords it would no longer be able to make payments on homes, leading to its shutdown.¹²³⁶

Timeline

Money raised

Zeus Living raised $150 million in debt and equity, with about $125 million of that being equity.² The company raised a $2.5 million seed round from Initialized Capital in June 2016.⁹ Zeus Living raised an $11.5 million Series A round led by Initialized Capital in December 2017.⁹ In December 2019, Zeus Living raised $55 million in Series B funding led by Airbnb at a $205 million post-money valuation.²⁹¹³¹⁶ In May 2020, Zeus Living raised $15 million at a $110 million valuation, a down round from its previous $205 million valuation.⁹¹⁰ In October 2021, Zeus Living raised $55 million in Series C funding led by Susquehanna International Group.²⁹¹² Zeus Living's total funding was reported as $150 million by multiple sources, though some sources cite $142 million or $217 million.^12368914

Investors named in the sources: Airbnb^23469131516, Initialized Capital^234691516, CEAS Investments^269101316, TI Platform Management^2691316, NFX²⁶⁹¹⁶, Comcast^3691316, Alumni Ventures Group⁶⁹¹⁶, Spike Ventures⁶⁹¹⁶, Y Combinator²⁴⁹¹⁵, Eric Wu²⁹, Soros Fund Management⁹¹⁰, Susquehanna International Group⁹, BBQ Capital⁹, Castor Ventures⁹, Transpose Platform Management⁹, Miras⁹, Picus Capital⁹, Bowery¹⁶, Bee Partners¹⁵.

What happened

Zeus Living was founded in 2015 by Joe Wong, Kulveer Taggar, and Srini Panguluri.^269111516 The company started by redecorating landlords' homes and renting the furnished properties primarily to relocated workers for 30-day stays or longer.² Zeus Living went through Y Combinator and by 2019 had a staff of 240.⁴¹⁵ The company grew to over 2,000 homes across the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, New York, Seattle, and Washington, D.C. by December 2019.⁶⁹¹⁶ Zeus Living achieved a $100 million revenue run rate and was valued at $205 million in December 2019.²⁹

The company hosted more than 27,000 residents for a total of 650,000 nights by December 2019.⁶¹⁶ The company had $10 million in contracts cancelled and landlords banded together on Facebook to get answers.⁴ Zeus Living laid off 60% of its staff in total between March and May 2020.³⁴⁹ In May 2020, Zeus Living raised $15 million at a $110 million valuation, a down round from its previous $205 million valuation.⁹¹⁰ The company pivoted to providing housing for traveling healthcare workers, construction workers, and displaced students.⁴¹⁵

The company began 2020 with around 2,000 properties and doubled that number by 2021.⁴¹⁵ Zeus Living expanded into cities like Austin, Miami, and Nashville due to the Silicon Valley exodus.⁴¹⁵ In October 2021, Zeus Living raised $55 million in Series C funding led by Susquehanna International Group.²⁹¹² The company listed nearly 5,000 homes across 96 U.S. cities by October 2021.⁹ Zeus Living had 87% occupancy and residents had spent over 1.4 million nights by October 2021.⁹

Interest rates climbed to their highest levels in two decades, making it harder and more expensive to purchase homes and cutting into revenue.² On November 6, 2023, Zeus Living sent an email to landlords stating it was struggling financially and winding down operations.¹²³⁶ The company said it would no longer be able to manage and make payments for properties.³ Zeus Living laid off its staff of around 120 people as part of the business closure.³ Property owners were transitioned over to a property tech startup called Blueground.³

One San Francisco resident who listed their property with Zeus Living said the company had been late on payments for at least six months.³ The property owner planned to stick with Blueground to maintain their current tenant but considered transitioning to a more traditional property management company.³ Zeus Living's closure was first reported by The Information on November 7, 2023.¹²³⁶ The company announced cessation of operations on November 16, 2023.¹¹ Zeus Living never went public and ceased operations.¹¹

Where the founders are now

Kulveer Taggar was the CEO and co-founder of Zeus Living.²⁴¹⁵¹⁶ Joe Wong and Srini Panguluri were co-founders of Zeus Living.^469111516

Lessons, as others put them

"In those sorts of traumatic situations, you go into third person a little bit. I just felt like this is happening to me and this is happening to my company."Kulveer Taggar⁴

"What we did was find new demand that replaced the demand we were no longer having. That was probably the first ray of light that, 'Hey, we'll get through this.'"Kulveer Taggar⁴

"We want to be in the top 100 metros globally. We want to take this company public. We want to rebuild the team to the scale it was before."Kulveer Taggar⁴¹⁵

Sources

1. Airbnb-Backed Real Estate Startup Zeus Living Is Shutting ..., theinformation.com, Nov 7, 202
2. Proptech startup Zeus Living, which was backed by Airbnb, reportedly shuts down | TechCrunch, TechCrunch, 2023-11-08
3. San Francisco Rental Startup Shuts Down After Financial Woes, The San Francisco Standard, 2023-11-16
4. How housing startup Zeus Living won a ‘mad fight for survival’ as COVID threatened to shut it down, businessofbusiness.com, 2021-02-18
6. Zeus Living, a real estate startup backed by Airbnb, is shutting down after raising $150M in total funding - Tech Startups, Tech Startups - Tech News, Tech Trends & Startup Funding, 2023-11-08
8. Proptech Startup Zeus Living, Backed by Airbnb, Shuts Down, TechShots, Nov 10, 20
9. Zeus Living Revenue, Valuation, Funding & Investors | Multiples, multiples.vc, Sep 18, 20
10. Airbnb-Backed Zeus's Value Is Halved in New Funding ..., bloomberg.com, May 8, 202
11. Zeus Living IPO Timeline and Financing Details - Forge, forgeglobal.com, Nov 16, 20
12. Zeus Living secures $55 million for flexible living model, Short Term Rentals, 2021-10-15
13. Airbnb Contributes to Zeus Living's $55 Million Series B ..., businesstravelnews.com, Dec 9, 201
14. How Much Has Zeus Living Raised? $217M in Total Funding, startupfundraising.com, Jul 21, 20
15. Portfolio: zeusliving : Bee Partners, Bee.
16. Zeus Living Secures $55M in Series B Funding From Investors Including Airbnb, CEAS Investments, and TI Platform Management, prnewswire.com, 2019-12-09

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