The co-living concept owned and operated by WeWork, WeLive, is set to foray into Indian waters. The company is reportedly in talks with its Indian partner, Embassy Group to launch it in the country to tap the growing number of millennial.
Currently, WeLive is serving hundreds of members across 400 apartments at its first two locations, WeLive Wall Street in New York City and WeLive Crystal City in Virginia. Through the firm, the Adam Neuman-led company offers service apartment with facilities such as communal kitchens stocked with dishes and cooking utensils, televisions, cozy furnished bed, Wi-Fi, laundry, amongst other basic services.
“WeWork is betting heavily on its new co-living venture,” ET Rise quoted a person directly aware of the development. “The concept is being perfected globally before being rolled out in India to achieve scale.”
Co-living is still in nascent stage in India. It is expected to be the next big thing in the Indian realty market after co-working sector. The trend is catching up in major cities as the housing market passages away from the proprietorship towards a service model.
According to industry data, the co-living market is pegged at around $10 billion globally. By 2020, this market is expected to touch $15 billion.
On the other hand, WeWork is on a major expansion mode in India. The company currently operates 3 million sq ft office space across Bengaluru, Mumbai and Gurgaon.
WeWork’s Indian arm is doubling the co-working space it offers in the country to 6 million square feet in 2019. The firm will expand its presence to cities including Chennai, Pune and Hyderabad by the end of next year. While entering the Indian market back in 2016, the company had formed a joint venture with real estate developer Embassy Group.