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

AI-integrated medical device for early disease detection - scans a person's health in 60 seconds without the need for a doctor. 700 biomarkers are monitored with patents in India (US pending). ₹6.6CR (~$770K) seed round. Other investors in the round: Sanchi Connect. Both founders are engineers: Saniya started almost straight out of the Symbiosis University of Applied Sciences; Lokant out of IIM-Lucknow. (BTech at IET DAVV Indore). Comps: Prantae Solutions (IAN); Neuranics (IPV) - much more specific use cases.

Homegrown watch brand - precision mechanical watches - ₹8-20K price points ($100-250). Sold only through its website - a D2C brand that earns its label. ₹25CR (~$3M) FY25 revenue, wants to double this FY. India's luxury watch market is ₹10K CR (~$1.1B) - this is not luxury but you can understand the aspirational positioning. ₹6.5CR (~$750K) angel round (investors undisclosed) at a ₹45CR ($5.2M) valuation. Co-Founder Mustafa's only profession: watchmaking. Comps: here is a nice user review comparing Argos and the classic Indian brand - HMT - https://www.watchcrunch.com/siddharthb/posts/a-tale-of-two-indian-watch-brands-one-old-and-one-new-389530

QSR chain of fresh fruit juice bars, starting with one location in Indiranagar, ₹99+ price points. This is India, so the juice bar also does burgers. "Drinking juice from a place you can trust for transparency, value and quality, all at an unbelievable price point.” $1.2M seed round from Prakash Sikaria (Super.money), Ravi Iyer (Flipkart), Arpan Sheth (Bain) and others. Abhishek and Vikram were Head of Marketing and Head of Business Strategy & Growth respectively at 4700BC, the popcorn brand. That brand, incidentially, is at ₹125CR of revenue for FY25.

AI for the insurance industry - automates complex document processing that has traditionally been manual - submission processing, audits, claims intake. "Think of FurtherAI as ChatGPT for insurance that automates complex workflows". $5M seed round. Other investors in the round: Y Combinator, ConvergeVC, Xceedance. Founders: Aman was Co-Founder & CRO (earlier CPO) at TurboHire; Sashank from Apple, Oracle. Comps: Consint.AI (Equanimity Ventures, Seafund)

Musculoskeletal (MSK) care - in centre and online. First centre in HSR - 12K sessions in 8 months. Six more centres coming up in Bangalore this year, followed by another city next year. $1M pre-seed round, including angels: Sriharsha Majety + Nandan Reddy (Swiggy), Kulin Shah (Onsurity). Founders: Rohit is from Dukaan, Bounce; Ninad from Portea, Swiggy, Pine Labs. Comps: OSSO (Blume Founders Fund, funded last week); FlexifyMe (GSF/IvyCap/Flipkart Ventures); Nivaan Care (Endiya).

Wearable device for mental health. The device sends calming signals in 10 minute sessions to the brain’s "relaxation centres", helping users reduce stress and anxiety. How does it do that? - it stimulates the vagus nerve (our longest cranial nerve that stretches from our brain to abdomen) with electrical signals. Tested on a thousand users and endorsed by 100 specialists. ₹12K+ price, pre-orders at ₹8k. ₹4.5CR (~$525K) pre-seed round. Angels in the round: Arjun Vaidya (V3), ​Sharan Hegde (finfluencer), Ritesh Agarwal (OYO)l, Aman Gupta (BoAt). The startup had earlier raised ₹2CR (~$230K) in the first tranche of this round from government bodies - SISFS, MeitY Startup Scheme, NGIS, (BIRAC). Mental health comps: many, but they're not device-centric. Founders: Siddhant ran a startup delivering keto-meals; Shalmali ran a climatetech startup.

Biofortified grains brand. Parent co. GreenDay works with 15,000 farmers to grow grains (rice, wheat, millets) naturally, albeit with higher levels of essential nutrients - zinc, iron, protein, and calcium. PV Sindhu is brand ambassador and investor. ₹10CR (~$1.2M) seed round, including angels - Namita Thapar, Shantanu Deshpande, Akshay Ghulati, Apurva Chamaria, Karan Jindal. The founders started soon after business school (IIM-A; Jaypee). Competes with traditional brands that artificially fortify - where nutrients are added during food processing.

Mass-premium shapewear brand, alà SKIMS, by influencer Kusha Kapila. 192K IG followers one week after its launch (Kusha has 4M+ followers). Priced 30-40% lower than global competitors. ""Our goal is to be the first brand Indian women think of when they need shapewear, just as SKIMS has done globally". ₹8-10CR (~$900K-1.1M) seed round (exact amount undisclosed), Ghazal Alagh also participated. Comps: Zivame, Clovia, Krvvy.

AI agents for the pharma industry - streamlines FDA compliance for regulatory, medical affairs and commercial teams. Two tools: Labeling AI streamlines label updates and competitor comparisons; Ads Promo AI helps review promotional materials and ensures their compliance. $500K seed - YC remains a draw for many of our founders. SF/BLR based. Founders: Sanskar is from GlobalBees; Hemant from Zolve, Oyo; Rishabh a two-time founder.

Enables influencers to earn by recommending products from Myntra, Flipkart, Nykaa and D2C brands. Product =~ Wishlink. ₹12.5CR (~$1.5M) seed round. Founder Ashna Ruia is from the Essar family. Comps: Wishlink, Faym, HYPD.