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

Chain of coffee shops in North India with a vegetarian menu. Now in 35 locations. Pre-seed round of an undisclosed amount. Recent comps: Fast Coffee; First Coffee.

Pre-launch luxury skincare brand that will be manufactured between France and India. ₹4.5CR (~$500K) seed round. Investors undisclosed - "a Bangalore-based family office". Little to no information available on the founders. Comps: see Antithesis and other comps (below).

Fintech that offers micro surety bonds to MSMEs, providing collateral-free alternatives to traditional bank guarantees. ₹22CR (~$2.6M) seed round. Other investors in this round: AngelList. Aditya and Rajeev were co-founders of Numberz (receivables management, acquired by Chargebee); Mukand is from Aon, Tata AIG.

EV charging network with a dual approach - high-speed DC chargers for highways; along with a decentralized network of chargers in urban hubs. Any electric vehicle owner can purchase the DeCharge charger, install it and start earning as a host while saving on their own charging costs. Built on the Solana blockchain. $2.5M seed round. Other investors in this round: EV3 Labs, Chainyoda Jedis, Levitate Labs. Two of the three founders built a startup offering Metaverse-as-a-Service to brands; the third was Head of Blockchain at Chingari. Comps: Greenie Energy, funded last December. Greenie is focused on the India market, DeCharge seems to be building for a global market.

Remittances platform focused on NRIs in the US for now. Claims 500K monthly transacting users and $110-120M in remittances processing in the last 12 months. The app goes beyond remittances - users can earn rewards and get cash back on various services, including live sports (cricket) streaming, grocery shopping and OTT subscriptions. $14M seed round. Nishkaam was Head of Mobile Strategy and Growth at Hulu before joining Times Internet to create Times Club, a super app in 2019, which was spun off as Abound in 2023. Lots of activity in cross border payments in recent months: HiWiPay, Dodo Payments, Rupeeflo, Infinity.

OSSO = One Stop Solution for Orthopaedics. Omnichannel orthopaedics platform, with it's first centre in Gurgaon. $250K pre-seed round by Blume Founders Fund and angels including Sahil Jindal (DS Jindal Group), Akash Gupta (Zypp Electric), Varun Sheth / Zaheer Adenwala (Ketto), Brijraj Bhuptani (SPRY), Umesh Agarwal (Haldiram’s Family Office). Kunal was the founder of Navia Life Care (healthcare CRM), ex-Dr Reddy's, Fresenius. Avani is also a former founder with degrees in Molecular Biology. Comps: GSF/IvyCap funded FlexifyMe; Endiya funded Nivaan Care. Everyone is going omnichannel.

Pre-launch (a prerequisite for this category?) beauty and personal care brand. ₹5CR pre-seed round. Founder Aparna was Partner at Good Capital. Complex routines are now making way for simpler, all-in-one products - "I identified a critical gap in India's personal care market. Women were overwhelmed by complex routines and multiple products marketed as "essential," yet they struggled to find solutions that delivered meaningful results. I want Indian women to feel less burdened by endless routines and get more value for their investments in personal care products". Recent funding in the BPC space - Indē Wild, Sammmm.

Aerospace startup developing advanced propulsion and power systems. Its first three engine prototypes will undergo trials with local UAV manufacturers, reducing India's dependence on imported propulsion systems. Its small gas turbines also have uses cases for decentralised power generation for the oil & gas and manufacturing industries. $3M seed round. All three founders are ex Rolls Royce and GE.

Lab grown diamonds. Going from 4 to 20 stores in the next two years, currently in Mumbai, Pune, Bengaluru, Hyderabad. $3M seed round. Two brothers - Adit is from WestBridge and BCG; Aayush worked at family business Prism Jewellery, a manufacturer of traditional diamond jewellery. Comps: COLUXE, Fiona Diamonds, Limelight Lab Grown Diamonds, Jewelbox.

AI driven audit and compliance automation. $1M seed round. The three founders worked together at Spyne (AI to improve visuals for used car retailing), in sales, product and AI roles.