D2C fashion brand The Pant Project, fintech startups Supermoney and Pop, ice cream brand Go Zero, deeptech startup Praan and beverages brand Lazy Cocktails secured early-stage funding, the companies said on Tuesday.
Apparel maker The Pant Project has raised $4.25 million (Rs 35.5 crore) in a Series A funding round led by VC Sorin Investments.
The round also saw participation from MGA Ventures, Huddle, DexterVentures, Indian Silicon Valley, as well as, angel investors like Arjun Vaidya, Avni Biyani, Nikhil Bhandarkar, and Vijay Taparia.
Dexter Capital Advisors was the exclusive financial advisor to The Pant Project for this transaction.
The Pant Project was founded in 2020 as a digitally-native brand by Dhruv Toshniwal and Udit Toshniwal, aiming to provide custom-made pants. In 2023, it adopted an omnichannel strategy while also foraying into ready-to-made pants for both men and women.
The startup clocked Rs 31 crore in revenue in FY24. It plans to double down on its omnichannel retail strategy and cross Rs 100 crore in revenue within the next 18-24 months.
In March, VCCircle reported that Sorin Investments was on the lookout to invest in The Pant Project.
Supermoney has raised $3.4 million (Rs 28.6 crore) in a Series A funding round from Capital 2B and Capria Ventures.
The funds raised will be utilized to accelerate the platform's growth and expand disbursement volumes, said the company in a statement.
Founded in 2018, Supermoney has established partnerships with major brands across sectors such as electronics, pharmaceuticals, steel, auto parts, and automotive.
The company customizes supply chain finance solutions for its enterprise partners. It provides tailored payments and finance solutions for its supply chain ecosystem.
Currently, Supermoney operates in 40 locations and has 30,000 retailers/dealers, 50 anchors, and more than 500 distributors across India.
Pop has raised $2.4 million (Rs 20 crore) in a seed funding round from India Quotient and other undisclosed angel investors.
The funding will help the Bengaluru-based startup expedite the implementation of various initiatives, including the Pop UPI service that will enable users to earn POPcoins, a shopping currency with every UPI transaction made through the POPclub app.
Founded in 2023, Pop is a third-party app authorised to provide UPI payments. It had received approval as a third-party application provider (TPAP) from the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) to offer UPI payments via its POPclub app.
The company, in partnership with financial firms such as Yes Bank and Juspay, has built its UPI stack. Its platform offers POPcoins for every UPI transaction that can be used to buy products from direct-to-consumer (D2C) brands in categories such as beauty, personal care, electronics, fashion, and home goods- all housed within the POPclub app.
Go Zero has secured $1.5 million (Rs 12.5 crore) in a follow-on pre-Series A funding round from its existing investors including DSG Consumer Partners, Saama, and V3 Ventures, among others. The round also saw participation from angel investors such as Arjun Purkayastha.
Founded by Kiran Shah, Go Zero is an ice cream brand that offers health-conscious consumers ice creams and other products. The ice cream maker’s product portfolio comprises zero-sugar, high-protein, and low-calorie ice creams.
“With this round of funding, we will look to continue our growth on quick and e-commerce along with expanding to Tier 1 cities such as Jaipur, Chandigarh, and Ahmedabad. We will also continue to launch new flavours and formats,” said Shah, founder, Go Zero
The startup, in 2023, had secured $1 million in funding from a host of investors including DSG Consumer Partners, Saama, and V3 Ventures, along with angel investors Shantanu Deshpande (Bombay Shaving Company), Nikhil Vora (Sixth Sense Ventures) and Krishi Fagwani (Thrive).
Praan has raised an undisclosed amount in a funding round from a host of investors including Dhaval Shroff (Tesla), Vikas Taneja (managing director at BCG), Kirloskar Family, Thyssenkrupp India family and Riddhima Yadav (Brookfield) alongside existing investors such as Paradigm Shift Capital, Maulik Majmudar, Akshat Rajan, Surya Panditi, and Shailesh Bhat.
The fresh funds will be used to accelerate the deployment of Praan’s technologies –improving production capacity, scaling business operations, and improving industrial tech sales in India.
Founded in 2017 by Angad Daryani, Praan specialises in cost-effective, filter-less air purification systems driven by electric field-based capture, computer vision and artificial intelligence.
The startup had earlier raised $1.56 million from a host of investors Better Capital, Paradigm Shift Capital, Avaana Capital and Quality of Life Investments Texas (Angel Syndicate) along with a bunch of angel investors.
Lazy Cocktails
Lazy Cocktails has raised an undisclosed amount in a seed funding round led by Agility Ventures. The round also saw participation from angel investors, including Saurabh Kochhar (Meddo), Shruti Kharbanda (X-Thrive Enterprises) and Ajanta Bottle Pvt. Ltd.
With this infusion of capital, the company will launch a portfolio of zero-sugar mixers and expand its quick commerce, across India and offline retail presence across 1500 outlets spanning 20 cities.
Lazy Cocktails was founded in 2021 by Himanshu Gupta and Noyanika Yadav and it aims to change the cocktail experience with zero-sugar, high-quality mixers made from real fruit juice. Its products are currently available in India, across several Indian cities and on the e-commerce platform Blinkit.