TULU, Appliance Rental for Apartment Dwellers, Pulls in $20M Series A
By Nicholas Rizzi April 21, 2022 12:11 pm
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TULU, a startup that rents appliances like vacuums and mops to apartment dwellers, raised $20 million in a Series A round, less than a year after its seed round closed, the company announced Wednesday.
The Series A funding — led by New Era Capital Partners — will be used to help fund growth for TULU and its work on new partnerships with landlords and brands, with the goal to expand to 1,000 buildings in the next two years, according to TULU.
TULU sets up its wares on a spare wall in an apartment building, usually close to the lobby, and offers residents the ability to rent products, including electric scooters, virtual realtity headsets and printers, starting at $2 per half-hour. It also has a store where people can buy cleaning supplies and food.
“The idea behind TULU is simple — it doesn’t make sense for everyone to own a drill, vacuum, e-scooter or even printer, Yael Shemer, chief customer officer and co-founder of TULU, said in a statement. “We created the platform to give urban dwellers the choice to live a minimal, sustainable and affordable lifestyle, a rarity in traditionally small urban apartments.”
The company is currently in 130 buildings in 15 cities in the United States, Europe and Israel and counts Greystar Real Estate Partners, RXR and The Moinian Group as its users.
TULU was founded in 2019 in Israel by Shemer and Yishai Lehavi, mainly targeting student housing, and moved its headquarters to New York City later that year as it switched focus to the luxury residential market.
In April 2021, it raised $4.5 million in seed funding with the goal to more than double its presence in buildings and grow its team, as CO previously reported.
Aside from New Era, investors in the Series A include Robert Bosch Venture Capital, Kärcher New Venture and Round Hill Ventures.
Nicholas Rizzi can be reached at nrizzi@commercialobserver.com.
