WeWork gets whopping $4.4B investment for expansion

Sharing is caring and it also brings in big bucks, apparently. Leading coworking company WeWork just secured a massive $4.4 billion investment from Japan’s Softbank—it’s the largest U.S. investment ever for the Japanese conglomerate.

Founded in New York City in 2010 as a series of urban shared workspaces for entrepreneurs, freelancers, and small businesses, WeWork has significantly expanded its reach ever since. In addition to operating locations in 23 U.S. cities and 16 countries, the company has been developing specialized services for corporate clients, branching out with new coliving developments called WeLive, and even piloting wellness gyms in existing WeWork spaces.

With this new investment, $3 billion of which will go directly to WeWork and the rest towards fueling the company’s expansion in Asia, you can bet on seeing WeWork pop up in more places and in new ways.

According to Recode, this investment bumps WeWork to a $21 billion valuation, moving it closer to fellow sharing economy giants Airbnb and Uber, the only two private companies that are worth more.

Via: Recode