Workspace interior marketplace OfficeBanao, meme marketing startup Wldd and luxury skincare brand RAS Luxury Oils have raised early-stage funding.
Workspace interior firm OfficeBanao has secured $6 million (around Rs 49.2 crore) from Lightspeed as part of seed funding exercise.
The fresh proceeds will be deployed for both technology and team, with a focus on design and growth capabilities, the company said in a statement on Tuesday.
Founded by Tushar Mittal, Akshya Kumar and Divyanshu Sharma in 2022, OfficeBanao is a platform for designers, architects, contractors, office furniture and material suppliers providing an entire array of commercial interiors. It claims to have presence across 15 cities in India.
“The sector is unorganised, opaque and under-served. We believe only a tech-led approach can help deliver delightful experience to workspace owners,” said Mittal.
Rahul Taneja, partner at Lightspeed, said, “OfficeBanao is a mission driven company, committed to making a meaningful difference in how workspaces are developed in India.”
Since 2000, Lightspeed has backed companies like Snap, Hasura, Oyo, Affirm, AppDynamics, Nutanix, Supabase, Byju’s and Udaan. The VC firm and its affiliates currently manage over $18 billion across the global Lightspeed platform, with investment professionals and advisors in India, Silicon Valley, Israel, China, Southeast Asia and Europe.
Wldd
Meme marketing platform Wldd has raised seed funding of $1.25 million (around Rs 10 crore) from Negen Capital.
The firm plans to use the fresh capital to scale up its growth.
Founded by Arihant Jain, Jaidev Kesti and Vivekanand Kilari, Wldd has helped several businesses to break through the clutter through snackable and entertaining communication models.
The company also looks to close another $750,000 with strong angels and creators in the country, it said in a statement.
Neil Bahal, founder and chief executive at Negen Capital, said "Wldd is one of the best players in the meme and digital space. Also, most importantly, it's a profitable business which fits completely in our mandate.”
Founded in 2017, Negen Capital’s focus has been on profitable or breakeven businesses with some of the deals including R for Rabbit, Blue Tokai, Burger Singh, Burma Burma, Khelgully and Dwija Foods.
Luxury skincare brand Ras Luxury Oils has raised $1.5 million (around Rs 12.3 crore) in a fresh funding round from Green Frontier Capital, a US-based sustainability fund, and existing backers.
Ras will use the fresh capital for hiring and strengthening its brand presence by partnering with relevant channels.
Founded by Shubhika Jain, Sangeeta Jain and Suramya Jain, Ras claims to offer beauty and skincare products with natural ingredients and potent scientific formulations, manufactured at the startup’s proprietary vertically-integrated research facility and farms.
“As India’s first farm-to-face direct-to-consumer luxury skincare and beauty brand with several awards already to its credit, Ras has sustainability at the core of its business operations,” said Sandiip Bhammer, co-managing partner and founder of Green Frontier Capital.
