Dubai based provider of transformative shared workspace offerings, Hotdesk today announced that it has raised a $1 million seed funding round to transform how people work. The company runs an asset-free model where it does not own or lease any of its workspaces but rather consolidates the scattered market of empty commercial real estate on one platform.

The on-demand workspace booking platform enables users to instantly find and book workspaces. Hotdesk’s platform has multiple offerings – desks, meeting rooms and private offices by the hour, day, month, or year. The proprietary technology creates an opportunity for businesses with underutilised workspaces to sublet their vacant office space and generate additional revenue. Hotdesk’s hosts range from coworking spaces, shared offices, hotel business centres, and vacant furnished commercial office spaces.

The $1 million funding round is led by Virtuzone, the largest incorporation provider for companies setting up offices in the region. AlZayani Investments, a leading real estate group with a significant commercial property footprint in Western Europe and North America, has participated in the round through their Venture Capital arm ZVC (Zayani Venture Capital).

Mohamed Khaled, Founder & CEO of Hotdesk said “We are amidst a pivotal point in history – where work and workspaces are democratised. Hybrid models are the future, and Hotdesk falls right in between giving the comfort of working from home, yet being able to socialise, be equipped, and without the daunting corporate office experience. Businesses have become smarter and leaner post-covid, and no one wants a 5-year unfurnished lease anymore. Plug-and-play scalable workspace solutions are the way forward. Our core mission is to help people unleash their productivity, and give our hosts a chance to better utilise their unused commercial real estate assets.

Neil Petch, Chairman and co-founder of Virtuzone, said “Exploring innovative solutions that can advance entrepreneurship has always been one of our fundamental objectives. We see great potential in the workspace solutions that Hotdesk brings, and these align with our goals to remove barriers to entrepreneurship and make it a lot easier to start and do business in the UAE and abroad. With the capabilities that Hotdesk is offering to the corporate market, it can very well become the Airbnb of workspaces.”