AI-powered property management platform Crib App has acquired rent financing startup CirclePe, as it seeks to integrate financing services into its co-living management platform.
The acquisition will aim to help tenants at participating properties to rent accommodation without paying an upfront security deposit, while co-living operators will be able to receive rent and deposit payments prior through CirclePe’s financing model.
CirclePe was founded by Navan Jaiswal and Ankur Yadav and has raised nearly Rs 7.5 crore in a pre-seed funding round in May 2024 at a valuation of around Rs 35 crore. The round was led by OTP Ventures, with participation from 1947 Rise, iSeed, IIT Delhi, Venture Catalysts and other investors.
The company has mentioned the integration is intended to address liquidity constraints in the rental housing market, where tenants typically pay sizeable security deposits and operators rely on monthly rental collections to support business expansion.
CirclePe collaborates with non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) to finance security deposits and rent commitments, enbaling tenants to repay the amount in monthly instalments.
Crib App mentions it currently serves over 2,500 co-living, hostel and paying guest (PG) operators managing rental transactions worth over USD 1bn. The company also confirms it combines financing with its property management platform to enable it to use operational data, including payment history, occupancy levels and property performance, to support credit assessments.
Commenting on the acquisition, Sunny Garg, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Crib App, mentions the integration will allow tenants to move into rental properties without paying a security deposit while enabling operators to receive payments upfront through a single platform.
Ankur Yadav, Co-Founder of CirclePe, also adds the acquisition would assist expanding the company’s financing solution by leveraging Crib App’s existing network of co-living operators.
According to the company, the integrated financing offering has already been distributed across operators including Housr, Blossom Stayz, Kots World and Livstations.
