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

$1.2M seed round. Other investors in the round: M-League and angel including Amarnath Thombre (Match Group Americas). Co-Founders Krishna and Vivek are from MPL.

Teaches entrepreneurship all the way from K12 (Bower SEED) to executive education (Bower Lead) though certificate programs. Launching an undergraduate program (on campus in Hyderabad) and developing an AI-powered course builder this year. ₹11.5CR seed round led by angels and Astir. Founder Pavan was the founder of Metamorphosis Edu, acquired by BrightCHAMPS.

B2C re-commerce - marketplace for refurbished Apple products - iPhones and MacBooks. Seed round, amount undisclosed. Comps: Cashify (selling all brands) did ₹935CR (~$100M) of revenue in FY24.

Privacy management and fraud prevention. Its products mask sensitive data, and also detect and prevent synthetic identity fraud. Compliant with India's Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act. Seed round, amount undisclosed. Founder Sudhir led the Banking and Financial Services practice at Vaco (recruitment firm) for 10 years.

B2B auto spare parts marketplace for independent workshops. Currently in Gurgaon with an "on-demand retail" model, i.e. quick delivery. $1M seed round. Other investors in the round: 1947 Rise, a dozen angels. The founder, Vivek, was the Head of Business at Spinny for four years, prior to which he was Co-Founder at Stichio, a social network. Comps: SparesHub (Anthill), Boodmo, Koovers (acquired by Schaeffler), TyrePlex (PeerCapital).

Dashcams for retail customers and fleet operators. Dashcams now come with ADAS and driver monitoring (for fatigue etc.). Fleet customers include Shoffr, Euro Cars, Namma Yatri, Cityflo. ₹11CR seed round. Other investors in the round: Infinyte Club; MeitY through PIEDS-BITS Pilani; Gajendra Jangid and Vikram Chopra (CARS24). Founders: Ankit is from Bounce and Bounce Infinity; Pranjal was an EIR at Antler and a coder at Dream11, Urban Company. Comps: Safe Cams and NEXDIGITRON (not funded).

D2C fast fashion brand, focused on western and party wear for women aged 17 to 27. Launched this Feb through D2C and marketplaces, sourcing from ~30 factories in India and abroad. "Quick react" model - launches styles with low MOQs and scales those which show high adoption. ₹30CR (~$3.5M) seed round. Eight angels participated including Ramakant Sharma (Livspace), Ghazal Alagh (Mamaearth). Founders: Nikhil, ex-Myntra, was the CEO of Styli, a fast fashion brand in the Middle East by Landmark Group; Mani is from Max Fashion (also Landmark Group), Myntra; Justin led supply chain at Styli. Comps: Berrylush.

AI-led DevOps platform. Devs can deploy code and infrastructure autonomously across multi-cloud platforms, reducing dependency on DevOps teams. ₹1.4CR pre-seed round. Founders: Kalpesh was the first salesperson at ZoomInfo acquired Insent.ai (the founders of which are investing in this round); Vedant is from BrowserStack.

AI tutor for every student - personalised, affordable. AI tutors for India (PadhAI for UPSC aspirants) and the US (EverTutor for GRE prep). Now launching EverTutor Live, an 1:1 AI Tutor that thinks, listens, talks, draws and teaches on a video call. $9.5M seed. Other investors in the round: General Catalyst, Peak XV, Calibrate Ventures, Courtyard. CEO Karttikeya (IIT-B, PhD in AI from UC Berkeley), was a Visiting Research Scientist at DeepMind and Meta during his PhD. Co-Founder and Advisor Kurt Keutzer is an AI researcher at Berkeley. Comps: Arivihan (GSF, Accel).

Nanomaterials for energy storage. Has developed ion-selective membranes that serve as critical components for electrolysers used in green hydrogen production and for redox flow batteries in long duration energy storage (LDES) systems. Existing membranes fall short in durability, efficiency or cost-effectiveness - solving these is critical for the clean energy transition. ₹25CR seed round - Ankur Capital's first deal from Fund III. The startup is Philadelphia and BLR based. The founders are material scientists. Murari has been working on this for the last six years, almost straight out of U-Penn; Nagesh spent 10 years at Thermax and was Founder in Residence at Entrepreneur First.