Colive, a rental housing operator based in Bengaluru, has raised $20 million in strategic finance from Bain Capital as part of a consortium that included long-time collaborator Sattva Group. The capital would bolster Colive’s technology stack, expand in key cities and accelerate execution in tech-enabled rental housing.
A new $100 million real-estate platform-managed by Colive
Alongside the fundraise, Bain Capital and Sattva Group have launched a $100 million pan-India co-living real-estate platform that will acquire land, develop flagship communities, and deliver purpose-built rental homes in major urban centers.
Colive will serve as the platform’s manager, anchoring operations, site selection, and execution. The initiative marks one of the largest institutional-scale commitments to India’s co-living sector to date, signaling strong confidence in demand for professionally managed shared housing.
First sites: Pune and Bengaluru; 0.5 million sq ft under development
The platform has already completed land acquisitions in Pune and Bengaluru, with nearly 0.5 million sq ft of co-living space under development. These sites are expected to feature large-format, fully serviced living spaces, complete with shared amenities and community infrastructure.
In the near term, additional opportunities are being evaluated in Hyderabad, alongside Bengaluru and Pune. The partners are targeting 8-10 flagship projects to establish significant scale quickly.
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What the $20 million means for Colive
For Colive, the fresh $20 million injection will support technology upgrades, market expansion, and the company’s broader strategy of delivering tech-enabled rental housing solutions.
The funding is intended as operational fuel for Colive’s role as platform manager. This complements the separate real-estate capital pool within the $100 million vehicle, ensuring the company can grow its portfolio and service capabilities alongside the physical development of new assets.
Ownership structure and partnership background
The real-estate platform is jointly owned by Bain Capital and Sattva Group, with Bain holding the majority stake. Sattva has been an equal joint-venture partner in Colive since 2019, when it acquired a 50 percent stake in the company.
This long-standing relationship positions Colive as the natural operator for the new platform, combining Bain’s financial firepower with Sattva’s deep real-estate expertise and Colive’s operational experience.
Scale and property blueprint
According to earlier plans, each property under the platform is expected to average around 300,000 sq ft, typically on 2-3 acres, and target executive rentals.
The initiative aims to scale Colive’s managed capacity to 50,000 beds within three years, a significant leap from its earlier footprint, which stood at around 14,000 managed beds. Each development will be designed as a community-driven living environment with built-in amenities, reflecting global co-living standards.
Why now: demand for organized co-living
Institutional interest in co-living in India has surged in recent years. Rising urban migration, a growing population of millennials and Gen Z professionals, and the need for affordable-yet-aspirational housing near employment hubs have fueled demand.
A Colliers estimate indicated that India’s organized co-living inventory expanded from 210,000 beds in 2021 to an expected 450,000 beds by the end of 2024. The trend reflects a wider formalization of the rental market, with branded operators gradually displacing fragmented, unorganized supply.
What the partners are saying
“India is experiencing a fundamental transformation in urban housing preferences,” said Sarit Chopra, Partner at Bain Capital. He emphasized that the firm’s commitment reflects confidence in both the market’s long-term potential and Colive’s ability to scale operations effectively.
Bijay Agarwal, Managing Director at Sattva Group, noted that the partnership is aimed at delivering international standards and global best practices to Indian rental housing. He stressed the importance of building quality supply at scale, which remains one of the sector’s biggest challenges.
Colive’s Founder and CEO Suresh Rangarajan described the investment as a “pivotal moment” for the company, enabling it to innovate further and cement its leadership in smart, community-first living solutions.
What to watch next
Land in Pune and Bengaluru is secured and we are already under development on 0.5 million sq ft of provision. The next phase will be to kick off the first flagship projects. The platform will also share delivery timelines, what kind of pace the rollout of the intended 50,000 beds, and the mix of marketplaces it will want to advance first.
The success of these early projects will serve as a litmus test for the viability of institutional capital in scaling purpose-built co-living across India’s largest urban hubs.
