Direct-to-consumer (D2C) orthodontic startup Snazzy has raised $2.2 million in its Seed funding round led by Y Combinator, Form Capital, Goodwater Capital, and ANIM Fund, the company said in a statement on Wednesday.
Angel investors including Kunal Shah, the founder of Cred; Bobby Goodlatte, Stripe and Coinbase angel investor and also the co-founder of Form Capital and Eric Idiahi who is Co-founder and Partner at Verod Capital, among others also participated in the funding round, the company said.
Founded in 2020, Snazzy by IIT Hyderabad graduates Ayush Pateria and Keshav Chouksey, is a cosmetology brand with its software and offline presence, delivering affordable cosmetic treatments in India, the company said.
Pateria has a computer science degree from IIT Hyderabad and had worked with a Silicon Valley-based start-up before Snazzy. Chouksey was Pateria’s batchmate at IIT Hyderabad and was with Mercedes Benz Dealers, where he headed marketing for South India, before starting Snazzy.
Y Combinator was set up in 2005 to provide earliest stage of venture funding for startups. Since then, it has funded over 3,000 startups with a community of over 6,000 founders.
Snazzy facilitates teeth straightening by leveraging a D2C business model and other technologies to provide clear aligners at affordable prices with convenience to consumers. The alignment sets are 3D printed in clear plastic and can be removed while earing and brushing. The alignment sets and do not have brackets or wires, the company said. The company does the initial scanning at the patient’s home and once they start treatment, individuals are supposed to check in with their remote orthodontists every two weeks, the company said.
“It was shocking to find that the existing aligner solutions were priced at upwards of Rs 2 lakh, making it accessible only to a few ultra-privileged. At Snazzy, we have used a tech-first approach to make straighter smiles accessible, convenient and affordable,” Pateria said.
The company follows a vertically-integrated model by manufacturing aligners and leveraging teledentistry to provide treatments via its network of orthodontists, helping individuals save more than 70% of the amount required on an average in clinics.
The cumulative opportunity in the clear aligners industry is worth more than $35 billion today in India, while the global opportunity is worth more than $1 trillion, according to the statement. Snazzy claims to have doubled its revenue in the current quarter and claims to be profitable on every order.
The company currently has presence in Hyderabad, Delhi and Bangalore, and is eyeing expansion across India.
“We respect this underlying motivation tremendously and coupled with the technology and operational savvy the team brings forth, know that Snazzy will only continue to improve lives across the country. To preserve such a high standard of care whilst making it possible for multiple households to experience the process and enjoy the outcome is a feat - and this is just the outset,” said Anya Hayden, general partner, ANIM Fund.
