Dubai’s Virtuzone leads $1m seed funding round in Hotdesk

Business setup company Virtuzone has deployed funds as the lead investor in a $1m seed funding round in Hotdesk, the on-demand workspace booking platform.

Hotdesk’s platform offers desks, meeting rooms and private offices by the hour, day, month, or year. The proprietary technology creates an opportunity for businesses with underutilised workspaces to sublet their vacant office space and generate additional revenue.

Hotdesk’s hosts range from coworking spaces, shared offices, hotel business centres, and vacant furnished commercial office spaces, a statement said.

Virtuzone leads a USD 1 million seed funding round in Hotdesk – the on-demand workspace booking platform. Read the full article here: https://t.co/aI3Io756lP #Virtuzone #Hotdesk #investment #startup #tech #venturecapital #angelinvestors pic.twitter.com/PKcmGIOe8D

— #VIRTUZONE (@Virtuzone_UAE) September 28, 2021

The $1m funding round is led by Virtuzone, while AlZayani Investments, has participated in the round through their venture capital arm, Zayani Venture Capital. Angel investors who participated in their personal capacity include Youssef Salem – Swvl’s CFO; and Khaled AlFahim – board member in Abu Dhabi’s Chamber of Commerce and Berlin’s Black Lane, and ex-board member in Al Fahim Group in Abu Dhabi.

Hotdesk runs an asset-free model where it does not own or lease any of its workspaces, but rather consolidates the scattered market of empty commercial real estate on one platform. Soft launch to date, the company has generated $100k+ in gross bookings, 10k+ hours of bookings, 1.5k+ users, and 3,000+ rooms and areas from 300+ hosts across 55 cities in EMEA.

Neil Petch, chairman and co-founder of Virtuzone, said: “Exploring innovative solutions that can advance entrepreneurship has always been one of our fundamental objectives. We see great potential in the workspace solutions that Hotdesk brings, and these align with our goals to remove barriers to entrepreneurship and make it a lot easier to start and do business in the UAE and abroad. With the capabilities that Hotdesk is offering to the corporate market, it can very well become the Airbnb of workspaces.”

“We are amidst a pivotal point in history – where work and workspaces are democratised,” adds Mohamed Khaled, founder and CEO of Hotdesk. “Hybrid models are the future, and Hotdesk falls right in between giving the comfort of working from home, yet being able to socialise, be equipped, and without the daunting corporate office experience.

Businesses have become smarter and leaner post-covid, and no one wants a 5-year unfurnished lease anymore. Plug-and-play scalable workspace solutions are the way forward. Our core mission is to help people unleash their productivity, and give our hosts a chance to better utilise their unused commercial real estate assets. Virtuzone are an extremely strategic partner that well positions us to delve into the realm of incorporations in Dubai and the region, with the number of business setups soaring higher than ever.”

Also read: Cover story: Why Virtuzone’s executives believe startups must emulate UAE for long-term success