• The interior design platform had raised over $70 million last year with investment from TPG Growth & Goldman Sachs.
• The investment is Ikea’s first such deal in India, however it isn’t the company’s dalliance in India’s startups by any means.

Ingka Investments, the venture capital arm of Ikea’s parent Ingka Group, has reportedly announced that it has invested in Livspace, India’s one-stop interior design platform.

Reports cite, the latest investment comes after the interior design platform had raised over $70 million last year with investment from TPG Growth & Goldman Sachs.

According to reliable reports, the Indian company plans to utilize the capital to develop novel home interior products & solutions while also expanding its offline presence. While, the company did not officially disclose the amount invested by Ikea, sources familiar to the matter claimed that the amount was somewhere between $10-$15 million.

The CEO of Livspace, Anuj Srivastava stated that the stake involved in the Ikea investment is quite minor and there is no future plan to attach a larger round to the latest investment. Srivastava further added that there is a strong commercial & strategic potential in the Ikea investment and that this is an opportunity to generate the best omnichannel experience possible for consumers.

The Indian company’s platform reportedly connects potential customers with designers as well as the supply chain to traverse through ideas, select a plan & implement it. The company’s model resonated with Ikea wherein the company sides started talking following the announcement of the Series C investment round by Livspace last September.

Reports claim, the possibility that the latest investment might be a precursor to Ikea eventually acquiring Livspace is not being entertained by the Hyderabad-based company’s board.

According to reports, both parties are yet to unveil how they intend to work alongside each other going forward.

Source Credit:

https://techcrunch.com/2019/05/20/livspace-ikea/

https://www.livemint.com/companies/start-ups/ikea-picks-up-a-minority-stake-in-livspace-1558345760822.html