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

QSR chain bringing Mumbai's street food to the mass-premium segment. Started out with one store in JP Nagar (Bengaluru), with 15 more planned for this year across multiple formats - cloud kitchens and in malls, tech parks and on the high street. Pre-seed round of an undisclosed amount. Angels in the round: Karan Bhagat/Yatin Shah (360One), Mohit Gulati (ITI GO), Ankit Agarwal/Varun Limaye (Mesa School of Business) and more. The two founders started out after a postgraduate program at the Mesa School of Business, one of them is a professional chef.

Fresh farm produce and supply chain startup, which operates on a B2B2C model. Formerly known as Sorted, it was founded by the Milkbasket team. The company sources directly from local farmers, takes orders on its app and leverages a network of micro-entrepreneurs for last-mile delivery. ₹21.7CR extended seed round. Other investors in the round: Stargazer Ventures, Eximius Ventures, Sunrise Sunset Family Trust, Infinyte Club Angel Fund. Founders: Anant, CEO, was the Co-Founder & CEO of Milkbasket; CTO Nitin was the Head of Product and Engineering; and Sahil was the VP/Head of Growth over there. Comps: Otipy (recently shut shop a few weeks ago), Pluckk (Exponentia).

Premium sneaker brand designed through the lens of Indian culture. Sold D2C, now establishing its own exclusive brand outlets. ₹7.6CR seed round, along with ₹1.1CR raised in venture debt from Stride Ventures. Angels in the round: Vivekananda Hallekere (Bounce), Suhasini Sampath (Yogabar), Nishchay AG (Jar), Ashutosh Valani (Renee Cosmetics) and more. Founders: Arjun comes from Graph Advisors (back office for fund managers), OnDeck, J.P. Morgan; Animesh is from Bain and E&Y. Both are from Netaji Subhas Institute of Technology. Comps (funded shoe brands): Neeman's (Sixth Sense, Anicut); Comet (Elevation, Nexus); Yoho (Gulf Islamic Investments, Rukam, Rajeev Misra (SoftBank)).

Homegrown brand for pickleball gear. US Pickleball Association certified pickleball paddles are sold at ₹7,000-9,000 - almost half the price of international brands. "Pickleball is one of the fastest-growing sports in India, yet access to quality, affordable gear remains limited". Seed round of an undisclosed amount. Investors: Manish Poddar ( Rare Rabbit), Pratham Mitta (Tetr), Malika Sadani (The Moms Co.). Founded by "a diverse team of students from the US, Cuba, Mexico, Germany, and India while studying at Tetr College of Business". Comps: GoRally runs pickleball courts (Bharat Founders Fund).

Programmable banking and card infrastructure to "launch your fintech within a month". Offers APIs and infrastructure for credit cards, prepaid cards and forex programs, so regulated entities can launch digital credit products with speed, compliance and reliability. In addition to infra, a no code platform allows its customers to launch their own banking app within days; along with tools to drive down CaC. $1.85M pre-seed round. Angels in the round: Kunal Shah (CRED), Sayandeb Banerjee (The Math Company) , Suresh Rayasam (GTM), Ravi Sudhakar (Microsoft). Founders: the CEO had data science roles at Uber and Linkedin; the CTO was co-founder at Stree (women's health companion) and worked at BNP Paribas, AMP (Australia) and Wipro. Both worked at Mu Sigma.

Connects travelers with passionate local guides. Tackling "three deep-rooted travel challenges: fragmented planning, superficial connections, and post-trip memory loss". Pre-seed round of an undisclosed amount at a ₹15CR valuation. The three founders started this out of IIT Delhi last year.

SportsTech startup with a mobile app that standardises sports assesments for young athletes and delivers data-based feedback to improve their athletic potential. Benchmarking tools are in line with globally accepted frameworks. It then connects these athletes with scouts from Indian and global leagues, along with sponsors. Coaches and parents get to track progress in real time. $1M round. Other investors in the round: M Pallonji, Jeena and Co., Ayaz Billawala, Nimesh Kampani, Jaimin Bhat (ex-Kotak). Founders: the CEO was Head of Engineering, GetMega; the CTO was an Android Engineer at the same startup; the third co-founder was a Managing Partner at Thermotech (transformer components). Comps: SportsSkill (Waimea Bay Investments); KIBI Sports (angels).

Data security for Gen AI apps. Gives IT and security teams visibility into how AI is used across enterprises. Unbound's infras makes AI safe, observable and governable within large organisations. Their main product, Unbound AI Gateway, integrates with tools like Cursor, Roo, Cline, and internal copilots. "Defaulting to blanket bans on AI tools is like being in the times of GPT-3.5," notes CTO Subbiah. "Unbound introduces surgical security controls into every AI request so teams can innovate without compromising sensitive data." $4M seed round. Other investors in the round: Massive Tech Ventures, Northside Ventures, Liquid 2 Ventures, Pioneer Fund, Ram Shriram and others. Founders: the CEO started out at Datamattic and Adobe in Bengaluru, followed by Imperva and Palo Alto Networks in the Bay Area - and is also a Venture Partner at Pioneer Fund. His co-founder was at Adobe for seven years followed by Tophatter. Both founders are PSG College of Technology alumni. Comps: Singulr AI (Nexus, Dell).

Home cleaning products in concentrate format that are non-toxic and more environmentally friendly (water takes up 90% of the volume in cleaning liquids). 150K customers served so far, across D2C, Quick Commerce and eCommerce. The company will also look at select international markets. $1M seed round. Other investors in the round: Utsav Somani (iSeed), Suhail Sameer (OTP), Sumit Jalan, Ajay Kumar (Action Tesa Group), Alok Mittal (Indifi). Founders: Mayank founded Rusabl (D2C brand with a similar product range); Karan worked at Muktha Laboratories.

Marketplace for secondhand luxury fashion. The platform lists 10,000 products from global brands and provides authentication in-line with global comps (think Vestaire Collective) - every item comes with a authenticity certificate. Tata CLiQ Luxury collaborated with the company last year to offer a curated range of pre-owned handbags. Seed round of an undisclosed amount. The two co-founders, Ashri and Varun, started Ziniosa close to eight years ago. Comps: Confidential Couture, My Almari (neither are funded).