WeWork founder raises $350 million for new startup

We take the same – or almost – and start again. Adam Neumann, the founder of WeWork is making a big comeback with a new start-up: Flow. He just raised $350 million from the Andreessen Horowitz fund, valuing his business at $1 billion. A record for a first round. The storyline has an air of deja vu. Adam Neumann, young charismatic entrepreneur proposes to upset the way of apprehending real estate, putting sharing at the center of his concept.

For this, it benefits from the support of an investment fund as prestigious as it is quick to open the checkbook. Does the story remind you of something? It’s normal. Three years ago, Adam Neumann resigned from the presidency of WeWork, the coworking leader, after a slow descent into hell. Softbank, Masayoshi Son’s investment fund, injected nearly 20 billion into the company, which was to go public for 47 billion.

Read alsoHow Softbank Turned WeWork Around

Nothing having gone as planned, the Japanese fund reviewed the economic model of WeWork and pushed its founder towards the exit. This time, Adam Neumann is interested in residential real estate, “largest asset class“, according to Marc Andreessen. The investor published a long blog note aimed at explaining this investment choice, relying on the experience acquired by Adam Neumann, without really lifting the veil on the functioning of Flow, halfway between rental and purchase of housing and always based on sharing. With the promise to say more… in 2023.