Philippine co-working firm KMC nabs series A funding from Singapore investor

(L-R) KMC co-founders Gregory Kittelson, Amanda Rufino Carpo, and Michael McCullough / Photo credit: KMC

Philippine-based co-working and staff leasing company KMC announced today that it has raised an undisclosed amount of series A funding from Singapore-based private equity firm ASEAN Industrial Growth Fund (AIGF). This marks the company’s first institutional round.

“It’s the largest series A round in the Philippines,” KMC chairman Gregory Kittelson tells Tech in Asia. But he and co-founders Michael McCullough and Amanda Rufino Carpo, however, declined to disclose the specific investment amount.

Launched in 2010, KMC offers flexible workspaces for startups, small and medium-sized enterprises, as well as multinational firms. KMC’s properties include features like 24/7 IT support, high-speed internet, and advanced security systems. Some of its co-working spaces come with unique amenities like gaming areas, sleeping quarters, and ice cream machines.

While the company offers flexible workspaces, McCullough calls itself an ecosystem because KMC also provides other services that its clients may need, such as staffing solutions and payroll management.

It can also offer legal and taxation counseling via its sister companies Kittelson & Carpo Consulting and KMC Savills.

The founders claim these added services and their localization efforts set them apart from competitors like New York-headquartered co-working space provider WeWork, which entered the country in 2018.

With the cash infusion, KMC is looking to scale its operations in the Philippines. “Our current clients or tenants demand that we expand, so we grow with them and as well as the market,” says Kittelson.

Now that it has backing from regional investor AIGF, KMC is exploring opportunities across Southeast Asia. “Indonesia and Vietnam would be the areas we’re looking at the most,” McCullough shares.

KMC now has over 13,000 members, 36 office floors, and 21 buildings across the Philippines. It manages 300,000 square meters of office space and counts international firms Uber, Airbnb, Dell, and Deloitte among its clients.