₹7CR seed round. Other investors in the round: IIM Calcutta Innovation Park, angel investors from IIM Calcutta and Symbiosis. Founders: Manjari (IIM Calcutta '16) was with Infosys and Wipro, and at Kearney after her MBA; Anukrit (IIM Calcutta '17) was with Maruti Suzuki and was Head of Projects for India at TotalEnergies; Asmita (Simby '10) was with IBM for close to 15 years. Founded in Nov 2020.

$3.2M seed round. Founders: Siddharth (RV College '12) was the founder of Upbeatz (marketplace for global brands) and of Palette Brands (house of brands which included cookware); Himanshi (Delhi Univ. '08) was Head of Digital Marketing at Reebok and Director of Brand Marketing at Cleartrip, before co-founding Palette Brands. Ember appears to be founded in Sep 2022 as part of Palette Brands and launched under its own name in 2024.

Seed round of an undisclosed amount. Other investors in the round: Subba Rao Telidevara, Bijoy Daga (Turiya Advisory Services), Robert Pancras. Founded by brothers Aditya and Yash. Aditya worked as a user experience designer at Samsung Electronics and at Frog (part of Capgemini). Founded in May 2024.

Sexual health platform for men, through weekly consultations with experts, medication and chat support. The company will now establish co-branded clinics and introduce products under its RxMen label. It also advises men on other issues - hormonal balance, skin concerns, stress and sleep disorders. Annualised revenue at $800K with 6,000 consultations per month, aiming at $1.7M by FY26 end. ₹5CR seed round. Other investors in the round include Ankit Goel, along with a grant from Prosus Group. Founder Shailja is a software engineer who founded Koala Kabs, a ride hailing app with women-only drivers. Founded in Dec 2022.

Womens wear brand for pregnant women and new moms. Redesigning maternity wear keeping the mother in mind as much as the baby. It has an online community of 250K mothers across India. ₹7CR seed round. Founders: Hina was a manager for supply analytics at Reckitt for four years; Mayank is from Myntra, Trell and Tolexo. Founded in Nov 2021. Comps: Mamaearth, HunyHuny.

Pain care brand with a range of products (e.g. healing creams and oils) for joint pain, migraines, back pain and arthritis. Pain relief is a ₹16K CR (~$1.8B) market in India. The company has future plans to launch new products (muscle recovery), expand its AI-driven physiotherapy app and deliver at-home pain management sessions. ₹2.8CR seed round. Angels in the round: Pawan Gupta (Fashinza), Amit Baid (10X Growth Ventures), Nidhish Mundra (Oaktree). Founders: Anshul was an engineer at Coupa Software and TradeFin; Manu was an EIR at Times Internet and Smile Group. Founded in Dec 2022. Comps: FlexifyMe (Pre-A this week: IvyCap, Signal Ventures, GSF) offers online physiotherapy sessions (AI + in-person) as well as in centres.

Kitchenware brand that launched this year with a range of enamel cast iron products - pots and pans, tawas and kitchen tools. This is a premium brand, priced at ₹4,999 for a small pan. 7,000 customers till date. The product portfolio will expand to 80+ products by year end. $1.5M seed round. Founders: Niharika (ISB) was the Head of B2B Growth for Workplace at Meta and VP for B2B Sales at Noise; Udit (also ISB) is from Monitor Deloitte, EY-Parthenon, Zomato (Head of Growth and Partnerships) and Mastercard (Director - Growth). Comps: incumbents Le Creuset and KitchenAid.

D2C grocery brand with freshly processed kitchen staples (cold-pressed flours, wood-pressed oils, spices, dry fruits). Distribution is via its own omnichannel model with a store in Gurgaon and 90 minute delivery. Plans to open 10 outlets in Delhi NCR. $1.1M pre-seed round. Other investors in the round: Indigram Labs Foundation. Founders: Yatish (Manipal Tech.) was the Founder & CEO of Milkbasket for close to nine years; Shailendra founded Veggie India which was acquired by Milkbasket, which he then joined for six years. Founded in Sep 2024. Comps: India's market for staples is dominated by legacy brands - Aashirvaad, Fortune, Pillsbury.

Mass premium jewellery brand focused on 'celebration' wear. 400 SKUs are sold D2C and through marketplaces, with ₹1-30K price points. Currently at ₹1CR (~$100K) annualised revenue. ₹2.5CR (~$290K) pre-seed round. Founders: Ankur (IIT Roorkee, IIM Bangalore) is from Mastercard, McKinsey and Fashinza (three years including the founder's office); Manali is from category roles at Healthkart, Limeroad, Bulbul as well as Fashinza (three years including as Director of Revenue). Founded in Aug 2024.

Luxury handbag and accessories brand, with 50 SKUs priced at ₹5,000-15,000. Sold via Ajio Luxe, Tata Cliq Luxury, Nykaa Luxe. Seed round of an undisclosed amount. Founders: Sanchit (EDHEC) was part of Whirpool's global Fast Track Management Program for two years; there is no information available on co-founder Annika, after her Master's in Luxury Accessory Design and Management from Italy. Founded in Jan 2024.