Culdesac, the company developing a 17-acre car-free community in Tempe, announced on Thursday that it had raised $30 million in series A funding which it plans to use to hire more staff and expand its real estate portfolio.
Culdesac is constructing its 1,000-person, walkable community at 2025 E Apache Blvd in Tempe, which is expected to open up to residents by this summer. Culdesac was originally founded in California’s Bay Area and officially moved its headquarters to Tempe late last year.
The funding was led by Khosla Ventures, with participation from Founders Fund, LENx (Lennar Corp.'s investing arm), Byers Capital, Zigg Capital, and Initialized Capital, most of which are repeat investors. Kholsa recently invested in Scottsdale’s Lessen and LENx recently invested in Scottsdale’s SmartRent.
The raise also comes with some big name additions to the company’s board of directors, including Lyft co-founder and president John Zimmer and Megan Meyer Toolson, chief customer officer of Opendoor. Ryan Johnson, co-founder of Culdesac, was previously on the founding team at Opendoor.
“At Culdesac, we’re building a new option,” the company wrote in a blog post. “One where the fastest and safest way to get around is to walk, roll, bike, or scoot. One where it feels like living in a park, not a sea of asphalt. One where community interaction is welcomed and designed for. One where people are prioritized over private vehicles … This capital will help us scale our team, raise our first $2B of real estate capital, and help us get one step closer to our mission of building the first car-free city in the U.S.”
Culdesac currently has 30 employees and it has 12 more jobs posted on its website, plus a handful of internship options.
Culdesac’s Tempe community, the company’s first, does not allow residents to have cars, instead giving residents access to discounted Lyft rides, unlimited Valley Metro light rail rides and other mobility options on site.
With less land designated for parking cars, Culdesac has room for retail space on site. A grocery store, a coffee shop, a Mexican restaurant, a bike shop, and a coworking space are all expected on the property.
The company also said it is working on the next batch of Culdesac neighbors, which will each be at least 50 acres in size. Culdesac did not immediately respond to questions about where these new sites are, or if any of them are in Arizona.
