Tulu | TryTulu.com

Tulu provides on-demand rental access to household products and lifestyle items for residents of urban buildings, operating through dedicated smart-rental units located within apartment complexes, student housing, and offices. Founded in 2018 by Yishai Lehavi, an architect, and Yael Shemer, an environmental entrepreneur, the company originated from the MIT DesignX incubator. The founders' combined expertise in the built environment and alternative consumption habits led to a platform designed to reduce waste and living costs in cities.

The company's business model is centered on a 'usage economy', allowing tenants to rent items like vacuums, kitchen appliances, projectors, e-scooters, and VR headsets on a short-term basis via a mobile app. These IoT-enabled kiosks track product usage in real-time, providing data that helps customize the inventory for each building's specific demographic. In addition to rentals, Tulu units can also function as a nano-shop for purchasing essentials like snacks and household supplies. Tulu partners with property management firms such as Greystar, Brookfield Asset Management, and Invesco to offer its platform as a building amenity. Revenue is generated through pay-per-use rentals by residents, fees paid by property owners for the service, and by providing anonymized product usage data to brand partners like Bosch and Hoover.

Headquartered in New York City, Tulu has expanded its operations to over 15 cities across the United States, United Kingdom, Ireland, the Netherlands, and Israel. The company has secured a total of $25M in funding over several rounds, with its Series A in 2022 raising $20M, led by New Era Capital Partners and including investors like Robert Bosch Venture Capital. This funding is aimed at expanding its network to more buildings and markets.

Keywords: on-demand rentals, property technology, proptech, sharing economy, smart building amenities, urban living, household product rental, circular economy, IoT, usage economy, tenant services, building amenity, last-foot service, residential buildings, appliance rental, micro-mobility rental, sustainable living, property management solutions, venture capital, consumer services