Flexible-office startup Knotel is in talks for a roughly $200 million Series C funding round, according to sources.
The Kuwait Investment Authority is said to be one of the main investors in discussions for the round, sources said. Though the final figure is in flux, the round is expected to be around $200 million.
Founded in 2016 by Amol Sarva and Edward Shenderovich, Knotel has become one of WeWork’s biggest competitors. Its most recent funding round valued the startup at $500 million, and it has backing from real estate companies including Newmark Knight Frank and the Moinian Group.
The Information first reported that Knotel was soon expected to announce a financing round in the hundreds of millions of dollars.
Knotel declined to comment.
Knotel has more than 200 locations across the U.S., Canada, Europe and Brazil. In January, Knotel acquired the largest co-working firm in Paris, Deskeo. That deal gave the company a presence 10 times the size of WeWork in Paris, Sarva said at the time. In 2018, the startup acquired another European co-working provider, Ahoy!Berlin.
The company recently expanded its U.S. reach, announcing in February that it would open its first Los Angeles outpost.
Former AECOM executive Vik Aggarwal joined Knotel this week as the head of its enterprise division, to bring on clients as strategic partners and oversee the management of the company’s global portfolio.