Naagin is a bold and flavour-first Indian hot sauce brand founded in 2019 by Mikhel Rajani, Arjun Rastogi, and Kshitij Neelakantan. The company fuses regional chilli heritage with chef-crafted sauces, oils, and spice blends, all designed for modern kitchens. Today it’s available in over 700 premium Indian retail outlets and on international platforms like Amazon, Walmart, and Carrefour, having served over one million customers to date . With a focus on sustainable, traceable sourcing using blockchain tools and operating a plastic-neutral business- Naagin is positioning itself as a global contender in the spicy condiment category. The company recently raised ₹18CR (c. $2.1M) in a pre‑Series A round led by 360 ONE Asset. Existing investor 8i Ventures participated for the third time, alongside 12 new and returning angel investors. The proceeds will fund factory scaling, team expansion, R&D, and marketing- fueling growth across B2B, D2C, quick commerce, and global exports. Mikhel Rajani, Co‑Founder & CEO, brings deep experience in F&B innovation from Francesco’s Pizzeria and Mandala; Arjun Rastogi, Co‑Founder & COO, is an alumnus of BlackRock and EY; Kshitij Neelakantan, Co‑Founder & Head of Operations, comes with a background in public policy and supply chain, holding a degree from SOAS London.

Pehle Jaisa is a Gurugram-based agritech startup that transforms village-level organic and agricultural waste into high-quality organic fertilizers and bio-stimulants. Using decentralized processing units integrated into local waste centers, it slashes the “first-mile” logistics cost and enables villages to produce their own fertilizers, gas, and electricity, empowering a circular rural economy. After selling over 1,500 MT of fertilizer and generating ₹2.5 crore in FY25, the company is targeting ₹100 crore in revenue in the coming years. $300K Pre-Series A. Founders: Pankaj Pandey previously founded Eggoz, CropCoin and KrishiGo; Ehtesham Farooqui has deep expertise in sustainable agriculture and climate-tech.

Kisah Apparels is a rapidly scaling ethnic wear brand for Gen Z and millennial men, headquartered in Kolkata. Since its inception in 2018, the company has evolved from a marketplace-first play to a digitally-native, omnichannel fashion label. Kisah seamlessly combines direct-to-consumer online strategies with physical retail presence—currently operating two stores and planning three more—while achieving a ₹25CR revenue in FY24 (a 42 percent YoY increase) and reaching a run‑rate of approximately ₹100CR in FY25, all while remaining cash-flow positive and profitable.The company recently raised ₹13CR in a pre‑Series A round, led by Sagar Daryani, founder of Wow Momo. Other investors in the round: Apoorv Salarpuria (Salarpuria Investments), Rahul Todi (Shrachi Group), Vinod Dugar (RDB Group), Inflection Point Ventures . Yash Sarawagi, Co‑Founder and CEO, previously worked as an investment banker, bringing a strong strategic and data-led mind to the business. Yashwi Sarawagi Ladsaria, Co‑founder & Director, was formerly a consultant at EY and manages Kisah’s design and operations . Recently, Saurav Kothari, an e-commerce specialist, joined the founding team to strengthen their digital retail engine.

Vecmocon Technologies is a Delhi-based deep-tech startup founded in 2016 by IIT and ISB alumni to drive the transition to smart, sustainable electric mobility. Its full-stack solutions include safety-compliant Battery Management Systems (BMS), smart chargers, motor controllers, vehicle intelligence modules, secure over-the-air update platforms, and AI-driven analytics. With deployments across 100K+ EVs- from two- and three-wheelers to light commercial vehicles, the company is enabling OEMs and fleet operators in India and globally to build connected, software-defined EVs tailored to Indian conditions. The company closed an $18M Series A round, with Ecosystem Integrity Fund (EIF) leading both the initial $10M tranche in November 2024 and the latest $8M segment in June 2025. Other participants in this round: Aavishkaar, British International Investment (BII), Blume Ventures (follow-on). This capital will fuel R&D in embedded EV systems, 5G-enabled connectivity, high-voltage platforms, and domestic manufacturing. The team comprises five tech-focused Co-Founders: Peeyush Asati, CEO and IIT Delhi alumnus; Adarshkumar Balaraman, Co‑founder; Shivam Wankhede, Co‑Founder & CTO; along with Akash Bansal and Nikesh Bisht, who hold board-level roles and drive engineering innovation for Ve­cmocon’s hardware-software stack.

Janitri is an India-based medtech startup developing smart, AI-enabled wearable tools for real-time monitoring of maternal and fetal health during the 1,000-day journey from pregnancy through postnatal care. Its flagship device, Keyar, enables continuous tracking of vital signs in labor and remote settings, aiming to reduce maternal and neonatal mortality across hospitals and homes. With deployment across 800+ hospitals and monitoring over 200,000 mothers monthly, Janitri recently posted revenue of ₹8.5 crore in FY24–25 and expects to double in Q1 FY26 . $1.4M pre‑Series A round. Other investors in the round: Prateek Maheshwari; Pradip Todi (O2 Angels); tal64 syndicate. Founders: CEO Arun Agarwal is a VIT graduate who, inspired by preventable maternal deaths in Rajasthan, built Janitri’s mission-driven device ecosystem; lead technologists and co-founders are documented on Janitri’s site and LinkedIn, leading R&D in wearable diagnostics

Daily savings app in beta mode, for self employed individuals earning ₹30-70K (~$350-800), looking to save/invest ₹50-200 a day in debt mutual funds. Savings is an entry wedge - "in the fintech space, it is difficult to sell savings as a product to end users, making customer acquisition difficult. Once we manage to scale the product, we will look into expanding our offerings to include a bouquet of financial products. These may include partially secured lending, FDs, credit cards, among others". $4M seed round, including Abhiraj Bhal (Urban Company); Sunil Prabhune (L&T); Abhinav Sinha, Maninder Gulati (OYO). All three founders are IIM, IIT and ex-BCG, with stints at OYO and Urban Company.

Animal and plant nutrition products, made from insects. Fundraise towards building a Black Soldier Fly factory (i.e., a facility dedicated to rearing Black Soldier Fly larvae) that will process 150 tonnes of feedstock on a daily basis; and global expansion. ₹32CR (~3.8M) seed round. Other investors in the round: Blume Founders Fund, Nitin Sharma (Nexus), Sameer Brij Verma (Northpoint), Anchit Gupta (Samara), David Chen (Equilibrium Capital). Founders: Siddharth (BITS/Kellogg) comes from Intact Infosys (a system integrator); Shivali (TERI, Humbodlt Fellow- Leibniz University) is a waste management expert. Comps: Loopworm (WaterBridge, Omnivore), Arthro Biotech (not funded).

Fashion brand, Thiruvananthapuram based. Fun shirts and sarees, here: https://www.mydesignation.com. $1.25M seed, including Dominor Investment Holdings, Green Trunk Ventures. Husband-wife duo Swaroop and Gopika have bootstrapped for eights years, out of college.

AI-powered visa application platform - 1.5 lakh visas processed so far. Available on its own website and embedded into partners like ixigo and SpiceJet. $2M seed round, other investors include Thinkuvate. Founders: Vijayendra (ex-Zomato, ixigo, MobiKwik) was most recently VP of International Sales at White Hat Jr, while Dhruv is a software engineer from MobiKwik. Comps: StampThePassport (angels), Atlys (A16Z, Peak XV, Elevation, DST). How is this space evolving? This February, Atlys acquired the UK subsidiary of Artionis, a Swiss outsourcing partner for governments worldwide. Beyond visas, Atlys now provides eSIMs, forex and travel insurance.

AI-powered "Product Experience Management" platform. Online sellers can create, manage and distribute product listings across channels - with automated catalog creation, product listing updates and visual content generation. Pre-seed round, amount undisclosed. Angels in the round: Sangeet Agarwal and Navin Parval (Mokobara), Rohin Mittal (AdYogi). Founders: Himanshu is ex-Reliance Retail and P&G; Ankit and Vipin are ex-AdYogi. All three worked together at ANS (Flipkart). Comps: some overlap with Phot.AI (InfoEdge, Together, AC Ventures), which focuses on the visuals for cataloging.

Agentic AI driven test orchestration platform. Pre-seed round, amount undisclosed. The three founders worked together at Ally.io (acquired by Microsoft) and then at Microsoft. Investment thesis captured here: https://eximiusventures.medium.com/why-we-invested-in-devassure-503e7e528c2e

Construction materials marketplace: connects US contractors and distributors directly with vetted manufacturers, offering integrated logistics, quality control and financing. AI is used for pricing predictions, lead-time optimisation and supplier recommendations. $750K pre-seed round. Founders: Harsh built product at US construction tech startup Katerra; Nasir, Raghav and Shubham (not listed here) are from OfBusiness.

Brain health - assessments, neuro-science backed games and clinician advised cognitive health recommendations. $1M round, including Stanford Angels, Dr. Sanjay Arora, Adarsh Narahari (Primus), Juhi Bhatnagar (Forj Capital). Founders: Issac is from marketing (Discovery, Puma); Rahul, an Antler India Resident, co-founded YAYSHOP (conversational commerce for MSMEs, acquired by Infra.Market).

Soon to launch NBFC that got its license on 11 April. It will provide microloans against property to small businesses, starting with 15 branches in MP. $2.5M seed round, apparently at a $5.9M post-money valuation. The three founders spent between 13 and 20 years each at ICICI - as Zonal Head, MFI Head, Product Head (Business Banking).

Korean/Korea-inspired lifestyle brand, retailing across four stores (BLR, HYD, Pune, Nashik) and online. Caters all things K - beauty, toys, home and more. Expanding via franchisees. ₹5CR seed round, including Arun Venkatachalam (Murugappa Group), Sangeet Agrawal and Navin Parwal (Mokobara), Yogesh Kabra (XYXX). Mohit is from sales (Lentra, Vedantu, Bjyu's); Gaurav was a Master Distributor for Revlon for a decade. Comps: Seela Mart (more grocery focused), Korikart (online) - neither seem funded. Japan inspired MINISO now has 300+ stores in India. As Forbes notes, India has seen "6.2 million posts in the last two years discussing K-drama, K-pop, and K-beauty trends, predominantly among the 19 to 24 age group." Read here: https://www.forbesindia.com/article/leadership/not-just-kpop-indians-are-in-love-with-korean-selfcare-too/94970/1