Kiki (formerly Easy Rent), a subletting startup that matches listers with people looking to rent for up to six months, recently closed a $6 million seed round, its co-founder Toby Thomas-Smith exclusively told TechCrunch. The funding will go toward Kiki’s upcoming relaunch in New York City this fall.
Blackbird Ventures led the round with $4.5 million, making it the second biggest seed check the VC firm has written. Kiki’s seed round also attracted various notable backers across the tech industry, including former Airbnb exec Harry Uffindell, Facebook Marketplace founder Bowen Pan, former Bumble exec Michelle Battersby, former Canva exec and founder of Phase One Ventures Mahesh Muralidhar, as well as ex-Uber execs Tyler Trerotola and Jaikumar Ganesh, among others.
“Kiki’s broader vision of building the world’s biggest ‘community-led marketplace’ is pretty special,” Pan said via an email to TechCrunch, adding that he had seen “a strong...
