Isthara raises $10 million in fresh funding

Co-living and food court operator Isthara has raised $10 million (Rs 81 crore) from investors to expand its presence in the retail smart food-tech and co-living businesses, the company’s managing director Gilbert James said.

The current funding round brings Isthara’s total fund-raise to about $21 million. The funding round was led by Dubai-based Eagle Proprietary Investments, which will enable Isthara to foray into the business-to-consumer retail food court segment while continuing to expand in the co-living segment, the company said.

James said over the next three years, Isthara was planning to expand to 500 food courts, through existing food courts in shopping malls high-traffic retail and high-street locations, and highways. In the institutional smart food court space, the company currently operates 35 food courts.


He added the funding will be utilised to double bed capacity in the co-living and student accommodation segments, to 50,000 beds by 2025.

In 2020, the company ventured into the digitised smart food court business, and signed up 50 food courts across the country, it said in a statement.