Breather raises $40 million for stylish workspaces on-demand

A mobile app that lets users find and book stylish workspaces on-demand, Breather, raised a Series C round of $40 million.

The funding brings Breather’s total capital raised to $73 million. Menlo Ventures led the round joined by Valar Ventures, RRE Ventures, Slow Ventures and Real Ventures.

Menlo Ventures’ Managing Director Venky Ganesan told TechCrunch, in an e-mail, that Breather pitched his firm for an earlier round of funding but the partners passed.

He said, “We did not think the CEO would hit his plans and that the company would use the money… But twelve months later, they hit all their plans and companies like Facebook, and Uber are using Breather all the time. A Breather space in any building becomes the most valuable space there with off the charts revenue per square foot.”

The investor was tickled by the fact that people have been booking Breather rooms not just for meetings and conferences but therapy or tutoring sessions, rehearsals and even marriage proposals.

According to a company statement, Breather intends to use its Series C capital for hiring, and geographic expansion, including further saturation where it already offers workspaces, and new cities as yet to be determined.

Founded in 2012, Breather now operates approximately 300 spaces across 10 markets, including in Chicago, New York, San Francisco, Washington D.C., and outside of the U.S. in Toronto and London.

Breather lets users book a workspace for as little as 30 minutes on very short notice. It also allows them to open the door to an office they’ve booked with a pincode delivered to their smartphones.

The company’s competitors include Peerspace, Liquidspace, Sharedesk and apps from traditional office rental businesses like Regus that now allow booking of rooms via mobile.