: Apartment rental startup Landing gets big funding round

In 2019, after selling grocery delivery company Shipt to Target Corp.
TGT,
+1.20%
for $550 million two years earlier, Smith launched Landing as an apartment rental company that allow members to move throughout furnished apartments with two weeks notice, with no long-term leases or security deposits. Membership costs $199 per year.

On Thursday, Landing said it raised $125 million in a Series C venture funding round led by Delta-v Capital with participation from Greycroft and Foundry. J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, a unit of JPMorgan Chase & Co
JPM,
+1.24%
was sole placement agent on the financing.

Landing drew its latest funding round at a valuation of about $475 million on the heels of growth in 2021 including a 375% growth in membership and expansion into 33 new markets. It’s on track for more than $200 million in revenue, the spokesperson said.

Landing now operates in more than 81 markets in the U.S. with more than 20,000 listings offering furnished rentals to members for stays of 30 days to years.

The company’s target customer is a “mobile professional who is looking for experiences over ownership of ‘things’ via flexible living, the spokesperson said.

The funding for Landing comes just a few days after high profile venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz (a16z,) committed $350 million to back Flow, a new apartment rental business launched by WeWork Inc.
WE,
+1.58%
founder Adam Neumann. That business is currently valued at $1 billion.

The fact that other startups such as Flow are moving into the business is helping to validate the category and shows that investors recognize the market opportunity and growth potential, the Landing spokesperson said.

Correction: This story has been updated to correct the formal name for Landing.