MICROSOFT BUYING INTO WEWork

WeWork Cos. Inc. built its brand on the hustling energy of small startups, but the company is finding that corporate giants may be finally ready to embrace the idea of renting a desk next to a stranger.

In the last year, WeWork has established a new team that caters to the needs of large companies. The New York startup woos them with a hip workplace crowded with entrepreneurs and inspiration.

WeWork said 14 per cent of its 80,000 members are employed by a company with 500 or more employees. The list includes Dell Inc., McKinsey & Co. and Salesforce.com Inc. Of the world’s 500 most valuable companies, 52 have employees working out of a WeWork. A year ago, fewer than five did. Microsoft Corp. is the latest to sample the co-working craze: It will move 300 employees into two WeWork spaces in Manhattan during the coming months. WeWork’s focus on larger companies is altering how it approaches new locations.

“We’re starting to bake in bigger inventory,” said Dave Fano, chief product officer at WeWork. “Buildings are coming online now with 50-person offices, 100-person offices.”