Hospitality brand Sonder is claiming unicorn status after closing a Series D round of $210 million.
Investors in the round - which puts the company at $400 million in total funding and a valuation of more than $1 billion - include Fidelity, Valor Equity Partners, Atreides Capital, ARod Corp and the Pritzker family (through Tao Capital Partners), as well as existing investors Spark Capital and Greenoaks Capital.
Sonder, which manages short-term rentals with hotel-like amenities, says an additional $15 million in investment will arrive over the coming weeks from “select developer” partners; it previously raised an $85 million Series C round in August of last year.
Sonder co-founder and CEO Francis Davidson says the capital will be used to “accelerate the amazing growth we’ve seen so far,” and the concept plans to expand to major cities across Europe, the Middle East and Latin America over the next 12 months.
In the past quarter, Davidson says Sonder has added about one new building a day, and in total, its portfolio has increased by about 3,000 spaces.
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“In just one day last month we added 560 units, which is larger than the entire portfolio of many other companies. Sixty percent of our current units are in locations where we occupy the entire building, and now we’re looking to do even larger deals,” he says.
Sonder currently has 8,500 spaces, which it leases, designs and supports, signed across 26 cities in six countries. By the end of the year, it projects $400 million in revenue, which is four times that of last year.
“Our raise and now billion-dollar valuation underscores the strength of the business and the rapid shift taking place within the accommodations industry. Our vision for travel is making beautiful, well-designed spaces accessible to everyone with technology,” Davidson says.
“We’re far more efficient than traditional hotels while also providing a unique space that’s flexible enough to meet everyone’s needs. Whether you’re traveling on your own, with your family or with friends, you’ll always have a space that accommodates to you.”
Sonder’s latest round drives it ahead of similar players in the space including business travel-focused Lyric, which raised a $160 million round led by Airbnb for a funding total of $185 million in April, and tech-forward apart-hotel brand Domio, which has $67 million in funding.