Pochemuchka Kids Pvt Ltd, which operates children-focussed clothing brand Cub McPaws, has raised pre-Series A funding from a clutch of investors based in Dubai, India, Japan, and the United States.
A Dubai-based global family office led the round, Mumbai-based Cub McPaws said. It did not disclose the identity of the investor.
Others that participated include Takayuki Sugiura, chief executive officer (CEO) of Circus Capital; Daisuke Takagi, an executive director at UBS; Motoko Tanabe, founder of HMF Corporation; former MedPeer Inc. chief operating officer Toshiro Wakimaru; and Taichi Nakamura, CEO of Venex Ltd.
Existing investors in the startup such as Samyakth Capital also participated in this pre-Series A round. This pre-Series A round takes the total capital raised by Cub McPaws to $800,000 (Rs 5.88 crore).
The sum for the latest funding exercise was not disclosed.
Cub McPaws was set up in 2018 by Abhay Bhat and Kinnar Shah, both of whom worked at Pepperfry. The company says it targets children born after 2010 and integrates augmented reality with its products to spur engagement.
“The new investment will help us scale our technology offering and create a complete range of products. We will explore international markets where our products have generated significant interest,” Bhat said.
Sugiura said Cub McPaws co-founders had managed to build a “fundamentally strong business” with its integrated technology giving it an edge over other consumer companies.
In December last year, Cub McPaws raised an undisclosed sum in pre-seed funding from startup incubator and accelerator Venture Catalysts.
Other participants in that exercise included Pepperfry founder and CEO Ambareesh Murty, Venture Catalysts co-founder Anuj Golecha and Robin Joffe, a partner at Frost & Sullivan, Japan.
Cub McPaws is among the handful of companies targeting children that has raised funding this year.
Earlier this month, Zerodha-backed Rainmatter Capital led a Rs 2.7 crore (around $367,000) round in Walnut Knowledge Solutions Pvt Ltd, which operates learning firm QShala.
In May, snacks brand Lil’ Goodness raised Rs 5 crore (around $661,000) in a seed funding round led by Japan’s Beyond Next Ventures. Former UST Global CEO Sajan Pillai and former Tata Health CEO Muthu Krishnan also participated.
Also that month, healthy foods brand Timios raised pre-Series A capital from Rangsons Technologies LLP, which is part of the Mysore-based NR Group. Paipal Venture LLP also took part.