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

Fuel payment platform for US trucking fleet operators, which aims to eliminate rampant card fraud and inflated retail pricing. Drivers make payments by a QR code on the Piston app, which ties each transaction to the vehicle's time/location/fuel type. Piston currently serves 120 fleets across 800 fuel stations. It is processing $20M in annualised spends and growing 50% month on month. Based in the US, its Calcutta office has a 25 member team. $6.1M seed round. The two co-founders have been fleet operators themselve. Prior to this, Co-Founder & CEO Vikram was with Applied Materials for over a decade in electrical engineering roles and was the Head of BD at Beans.ai. Co-Founder & COO Shivam ran Yavanna Retail, an apparels manufactuer in Calcutta, for seven years and was also a partner at Augment Ventures, an early stage fund in Calcutta. He then set up a recruitment agency for last mile delivery in the US.

Vertical short drama OTT, planning to launch with 100 original titles. $2.3M seed round. The two co-founders were at BITS and IIM Bangalore together. CEO Kushal was VP, Content & Product at Eloelo and Associate Director, ShareChat; his co-founder Pratik was Senior Director, Growth at Pocket FM and Associate Director, Growth at Meesho.

AI driven shopping assistant for interiors. "No more hunting for products from Pinterest posts". ₹3CR pre-seed round. The three co-founders are architects from SMEF'S Brick Group of Institutes, an architectural college in Pune. Prior to this they ran SqFt51 together - a platform which combined a marketplace for home owners to find builders and vendors, along with a Gen AI platform for house plans and elevations.

Kidswear brand incubated at IIM Bangalore’s NSRCEL. Everyday clothing for kids aged 0-12, as well as toys, accessories and organizers. Targeting ₹10CR revenue in FY26, up from ₹2.6CR in FY25. ₹4CR seed round, mix of equity and debt.

Preventive healthcare startup focused on wellness and longevity. The company provides personalised health services through in-house clinics, combining molecular diagnostics, high-resolution imaging and non-invasive testing. The first clinic opened in Bengaluru this March. It caters to two types of customers : those improving their overall health and performance; and those managing chronic or complex problems. "“We’re at a rare moment in time - where advances in molecular science, AI, and diagnostic precision now make it possible to understand the body like never before and take highly customised, timely actions to maximise your healthspan". $3.5M seed round led by Accel's Prashanth Prakash. Founders: CEO Rishi was the CEO of United Breweries for 3 years, was a VP at Avery Dennison (manufacturer of adhesive labels and other branding solutions for apparel retailers) for 9 years and was with Unilever for over 13 years. CTO Shiva has been the Chairman of Connect Ventures for 20 years, which "operates as a collaborative network of companies dedicated to advancing Health, Performance and Sustainability Initiatives".

Social commerce product suite to simplify monetisation for creators via high-traffic platforms (IG/WhatsApp/Telegram). 4 primary tools: link-in-bio storefronts; chat automation tools; smart links to streamline mobile checkout; affiliate program infrastructure to connect brands with influencers. $200K pre-seed round from undisclosed angels. Founders: the CEO was founder of Encore 2.2 (motorcycle accessories brand); the COO was the founder of MAGIC and comes from Genpact and GE Capital. Comps: Kosmc presents itself as an all in one alternative to Linktree+Shopify+Bitly and so on.

Climate focused asset financing and asset monitoring for EVs, EV batteries, solar panels and charging stations. Currently manages over 3,000 assets which largely seem to be three wheeler EVs. $3.5M seed round. Founders: Ishpreet is the founder of Stride Ventures; Vivek, the CEO, is a Director at Stride Ventures. Comps: Revfin (Omidyar); Vidyut (3one4, Saison Capital, Flourish); Perpetuity Capital (angels/family offices).

Agentic-AI led debt recovery platform that connects financial institutions (banks and NBFCs), legal teams, recovery agents and valuers on a single automated system. Traditionally, manual and branch-dependent processes lead to compliance issues for banks as well as delays (40% of delays could be avoided with automated workflows). "Banks rely on Excel spreadsheets and manual procedures for something that ought to be highly automated and compliance-driven. This increases operational costs and also diminishes recovery efficiency". Pre-seed round of an undisclosed amount. Founder Abhishek was the co-founder of SYAN Automation (IoT for home) with brief stints at BCG and Deloitte.

Hyper personalised and effortless travel planning using AI. Launching a new app soon with one-click bookings and 24x7 concierge support. ₹13.5CR in GMV till date. ₹2CR pre-seed round. Founders: the CEO and CTO started the company six years ago during college. Comps: Holiday Tribe (GSF, Powerhouse), Rimigo (Reazon, SGgrow), 30Sundays (InfoEdge), GydeXP (Rukam Sitara, last week).

Clean label snacking brand with complete ownership over its supply chain and a manufacturing facility in Haryana. ₹3CR seed round. Founders: the CEO is a software engineer who started Khari 5 years ago, prior to which he co-founded Square Sales India (marketing agency).