Prithvi Durai

Roshan Abraham

Homegrown venture capital firm IvyCap Ventures, which has backed companies such as Purplle, BlueStone, and HyugaLife, is in advanced talks to invest in a consumer appliances firm, two people familiar with the matter told VCCircle. 

The firm, which marked the final close of its third fund at Rs 2,100 crore in 2024, is looking to invest in Gurugram-based Nuuklife Consumer Pvt Ltd, which operates the home appliances brand Nuuk, the people said, requesting anonymity. 

One person said the VC firm is in talks to invest $9-10 million (Rs 86.1-95.7 crore) in Nuuk, adding that the latter is looking to raise funding at a valuation of Rs 450-500 crore. 

Queries sent to IvyCap Ventures remained unanswered till the time of publishing this article. Nuuk co-founder Gazal Kalra said the "information is incorrect" without elaborating. 

In March 2025, Nuuk had raised $5 million (Rs 43.5 crore then) in a Series A funding round led by Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia and India, with participation from existing investor Good Capital.  

Founded in 2024 by Rivigo co-founder Gazal Kalra and former Noise chief growth officer Shalabh Gupta, Nuuk develops design-first home appliances targeted at millennial and Gen Z consumers. Its portfolio spans fans, vacuum cleaners, garment-care products, juicers, and blenders. Nuuk operates as a subsidiary of Neutopia Technology Pvt Ltd.

The startup is currently expanding into categories such as home environment solutions and meal-preparation devices, while also exploring smart IoT products and other advanced home solutions. 

The person cited above said Nuuk is expected to continue expanding its product portfolio while stepping up marketing efforts. 

While Nuuk's latest financial data was unavailable, the person said Nuuk scaled up "considerably" in FY26. For FY25, Nuuk's standalone revenue surged 53-fold to Rs 16 crore from Rs 32 lakh a year ago, according to VCCEdge, the data research platform of VCCircle. Its net loss widened to Rs 39 lakh in FY25 from Rs 7 lakh a year ago. 

Consumer durables and electronics startups have attracted considerable investor interest in recent months. 

On Tuesday, Mekr Technologies raised Rs 67 crore in a Series A funding round led by Avaana Capital. 

Late last year, consumer appliances brand EDT secured $1.4 million in a pre-seed round led by consumer-focussed VC firm Sauce VC. 

In August 2025, smart kitchen company Beyond Appliances collected $4 million in a Series A funding round led by Fireside Ventures.

Meanwhile, IvyCap is investing out of its third fund, which was launched in 2022. The VC firm had planned to build a portfolio of around 25 companies through the fund, investing at the Series A stage, with average cheque sizes starting at Rs 30 crore, across sectors such as consumer-tech, health-tech, fintech, software-as-a-service (SaaS), enterprise-tech, and deep-tech.

The fund’s portfolio includes Celcius, Agraga, Eggoz, Snitch, Beatoven.ai, and Dhruva Space, along with follow-on investments in companies such as BlueStone and Biryani By Kilo.

Homegrown venture capital firm IvyCap Ventures, which has backed companies such as Purplle, BlueStone, and HyugaLife, is......

IvyCap Ventures in talks to back consumer durables startup

Consumer

Swet Sarika

Mumbai-based Supreme Group, which provides non-woven products to industries such as apparel and automotive, is looking for a strategic investor for one of its units, two people close to the development told VCCircle.

The group, which was set up in 1986 and also makes filtration products for cement, steel and mining industries, is looking for an investor for Supreme Nonwoven Industries Pvt Ltd, the people said, asking not to be named.

Supreme Nonwoven Industries makes nonwoven fabrics for the textile sector. These include performance interlinings for garments and footwear, as well as materials for mattresses and upholstery. The group also houses Supreme Treon Pvt Ltd, which supplies interior trims and components that absorb noise, vibration, and harshness to automotive companies. 

Both companies provide products and services across the value chain to Indian and global customers. Supreme Nonwoven’s customers include Decathlon, GAP, H&M, and Marks & Spencer while Supreme Treon’s client list includes Honda, General Motors, Eicher, Hyundai, Mahindra & Mahindra, and Maruti Suzuki, its website shows.

One of the persons cited above said that while the group’s promoters, including founder Mohan Kavrie and managing director Amit Kavrie, are exploring a minority stake sale in Supreme Nonwoven, a complete buyout by an investor is also likely in due course.

Mumbai-based Walter Advisors is helping the company find an investor.

The second person said that Supreme Nonwoven Industries is seeking a valuation between Rs 1,500 and Rs 2,000 crore (about $160-213 million). “The ask for a deal is 10-12X EBITDA," he said.

The deal value will be clearer once the size of the stake is finalized.

Supreme Nonwoven’s revenue rose to almost Rs 561 crore in the year through March 2025, up from Rs 547 crore the year before. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) increased to Rs 93.27 crore from Rs 87.05 crore the year before, according to VCCEdge, the data research platform of VCCircle. While growth slowed last year, its revenue and EBITDA jumped almost two and a half times between FY21 and FY25, per VCCEdge.

Supreme Treon’s financials for FY25 weren’t available but it recorded revenue of about Rs 522 crore and EBITDA of Rs 50.4 crore for FY24, according to VCCEdge.

Both the persons said the group is currently looking to sell a minority stake but a larger deal is still on the table.

Attempts to reach out to the management of Supreme Group elicited no response till the time of writing this article. However, a spokesperson for Walter Advisors said: “There are currently no such developments in the company, and accordingly, we decline to engage with you on this matter.”

Mumbai-based Supreme Group, which provides non-woven products to industries such as apparel and automotive, is looking ......

Supreme Group looking for strategic investor for textile unit

Manufacturing

Malvika Maloo

Adenia Partners, a Mauritius-based private equity firm that invests across the African continent, has marked the final close of its new investment vehicle, Adenia Entrepreneurial Fund (AEF) I, which it launched last year to back small and mid-sized companies.

The fund, launched around a year back with the original target of $150 million, was oversubscribed and closed at its hard cap of $180 million, Adenia said in a statement on Thursday. 

With this, Adenia’s total capital raised across six funds has reached $1 billion.

“Reaching our hard cap at first close and in under a year reflects strong conviction in both our strategy and in Africa’s entrepreneurial ecosystem,” said Alexis Caude, managing partner at Adenia Partners. “Adenia and our investors are responding to a clear market opportunity to invest in high-growth, high-impact SMEs across the continent.”

AEF I is the first in a new series of funds focussed on control investments in small and lower mid-cap companies, which the firm said are “the largest and most undercapitalized segments of the continent’s private sector”.

“AEF offers a diversified, pan-African approach while staying true to our core principles: sector-agnostic investing, control positions and responsible value creation. We believe the time is right to support the next generation of African champions,” Caude added.

The fund’s limited partner (LP) base comprises institutional investors, including leading development finance institutions (DFIs), European family offices, multi-regional fund-of-funds, and African institutional investors.

VCCircle had reported in January that Adenia was set to onboard the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private-sector investment arm of World Bank Group, as an LP for the fund. IFC was considering an investment of $30 million along with a co-investment of $20 million.

Alongside the fund close, Adenia also said that it has acquired a stake in Maymana, a culinary brand in Morocco. The company, founded in 1985 by Naima Berrada Benchakroun, offers traditional Moroccan pastries, bakery and viennoiserie products, fine grocery items, and gourmet catering services. It serves individual consumers, corporates and event clients across Morocco, with an increasing international presence.

“We see a strong and expanding pipeline of founder-led businesses across Africa that are ready for institutional growth capital,” said Stéphane Bacquaert, managing partner at Adenia Partners.

“Maymana is a prime example as a high-quality, family-built business with significant expansion potential. The Benchakroun family have built an iconic Moroccan brand and we are excited to partner with Majdouline Benchakroun and the rest of the leadership team to support the next phase of growth, bringing traditional Moroccan tastes to a broader retail and international customer base,” he added. 

Mack Schow, head of investor relations at Adenia, had earlier told VCCircle that the fund will focus on companies with EBITDA between $2 million and $5 million. It will invest $10-20 million, going up to $25 million, and build a portfolio of around nine companies. 

Founded by Antoine Delaporte in 2002, Adenia launched its first flagship fund in 2003, raising $10.8 million. It then raised $40 million for Fund II in 2007, $103 million for Fund III in 2012, $248 million for Fund IV in 2017, and $470 million for Fund V in 2024. 

Over time, Adenia has expanded its footprint across Africa. It started with the Indian Ocean in the first two funds, opened to West Africa in its third fund, and then expanded to South Africa and Morocco. Fund V is Adenia’s first pan-Africa fund. 

AEF I is somewhat a successor to Fund III, with a broader geographical focus. While Fund III focused on four countries, Madagascar, Mauritius, Ghana, and Cote d'Ivoire, the new fund will be pan-African. 

Adenia Partners, a Mauritius-based private equity firm that invests across the African continent, has marked the final ......

Adenia Partners hits final close of SME-focussed PE fund

Finance

Aman Rawat

Gadget and wearables brand Noise, which has remained bootstrapped so far, has more than doubled its revenue in the last financial year, a top company executive told VCCircle in an interview. 

“Our revenue grew more than 100% year-on-year to Rs 2,000 crore in the financial year ended 31 March 2023,” said Noise founder and chief executive officer Gaurav Khatri.

In FY22, the company had reported more than 2x growth in its revenue to Rs 793 crore from Rs 350 crore in the fiscal before. Its profit, on the other hand, grew close to 9% to Rs 36 crore from Rs 33 crore seen in FY21, as per data by VCCEdge, the data intelligence arm of VCCircle. 

Khatri declined to disclose the specific profit/loss figures for FY23 but ascertained that the company remained financially strong and profitable throughout the last fiscal year.  

The company derives much of its revenue from the sale of smartwatches, contributing 80% to the collections. Over the years, it has localised its manufacturing on the lines of ‘Make in India’ initiative.  

During the year, the brand continued to strengthen its Make in India efforts and focused on increasing its tech and R&D capabilities, particularly through its in-house tech incubator, Noise Labs, which was launched in May 2022, the company said in a release. 

Noise was founded by Gaurav and Amit Khatri in 2014. The company manufactures smartwatches, wireless earphones, speakers, and other electronic gadgets. It primarily sells its products via online marketplaces such as Flipkart, Amazon and its own e-commerce website as well as via brick-and-mortar stores.  

Just before the last fiscal, the company had roped in former Twitter executive Shalabh Gupta as its chief growth officer (CGO). In the last fiscal, it also made several high-level appointments to drive its growth. 

Noise claims that it is a market leader in the Indian smartwatch industry. Global technology market analyst Canalys has ranked the company among the top five global smartwatch players in terms of unit sales.  

The Gurugram-based company pits against the likes of another homegrown company boAt, which is backed by the likes of Warburg Pincus and Fireside Ventures, as well as players like Realme, Amazefit, PLAY, and Fire-Boltt. 

Gadget and wearables brand Noise, which has remained bootstrapped so far, has more than doubled its revenue in the last ......

Wearables brand Noise sees 2x growth in FY23

Bengaluru-based Wyser Capital, led by Suresh Vaswani, Supria Dhanda and Satyakam Mohanty, is raising Rs 120 crore ($13.2 million) for its maiden fund, with an additional greenshoe option of Rs 80 crore. 

Co-founder and managing partner Dhanda brings over 26 years of experience across enterprise technology, R&D, and product. She began her career at GE Capital International Services and later held senior leadership roles in storage and enterprise technology, including serving as country head at Western Digital. 

Co founder, managing partner and chief investment officer Satyakam Mohanty has around 25 years of experience in data science and AI. He started his career at Genpact, later founded an early AI product company, and went on to build Fosfor from the ground up, bringing deep operator expertise in AI and product development. 

In an interview with VCCircle, Dhanda and Satyakam spoke about the core idea behind the fund, why they are betting on agentic AI, how their operator-led approach differs from other AI funds, and the type of startups they are looking to back. Edited excerpts: 

What is the core idea behind your fund?

Dhanda and Mohanty: The fund is a specialist, operator-led venture capital fund focused on enterprise AI, with its first fund sharply concentrated on agentic AI. The core idea is to back product- and IP-led startups built in India but designed for global enterprise markets, combining capital with hands‑on operator support. 

Rather than being a generalist tech or AI fund, we have chosen to be very intentional about this niche: enterprise‑grade, agentic‑AI‑driven products where real value is created through deep technology, and strong IP. 

Why focus specifically on agentic AI, and why now?

Dhanda and Mohanty: In our view, AI today is at the scale of an industrial revolution, with every sector either already being touched or on the brink of impact. The industry has moved from traditional machine learning to deep learning, then to large language models and generative AI. 

However, pure deep learning and LLMs, when used without context, rules and clear objectives, are not enough to solve real‑world enterprise problems. Enterprises need systems that understand context, respect constraints, follow rules and drive towards specific outcomes. Agentic AI, which combines LLM capabilities with real‑world context, business logic, workflows and tools, is the way to deliver those definitive outcomes. 

That is why we believe the next wave of enterprise value creation will be in agentic architectures and why we have chosen to focus the fund on this theme.

How is this fund different from other AI or tech funds in the market?

Dhanda and Mohanty: The fund is different on three dimensions. First, we come from operator backgrounds rather than pure finance. We have spent decades running P&Ls, building and scaling products, and managing global enterprises, so we understand the reality of enterprise technology and sales cycles beyond spreadsheets. 

Second, we have a very tight specialization: enterprise AI with a sharp focus on agentic AI, rather than a broad, loosely defined AI umbrella. Third, we differentiate through enterprise access and value addition. 

What kind of startups are you looking to back?

Dhanda and Mohanty: The fund is primarily focused on seed and adjacent early stages, with the flexibility to participate in follow‑on rounds where there is strong alignment and traction. We are explicitly looking for product‑ and IP‑led companies rather than pure services or solutions shops. 

The main buckets we are seeing and actively interested in include vertical AI and agentic AI products in specific domains such as healthcare, financial services and broader enterprise workflows; tooling and orchestration for agents, including workflow, guardrails, monitoring and coordination; and, in a more limited way, infrastructure‑level plays where there is genuine differentiation. 

A key criterion is global outlook. India can be the starting point, but the long‑term market should be predominantly international, with the world as the addressable market rather than only India.

Who are your limited partners, and what kind of capital backs the fund?

Dhanda and Mohanty: The limited partner (LP) base is predominantly “operator capital”. That means the majority of the investors are global chief executive officers, CXOs and senior leaders from the technology and related sectors. We are also engaging with institutional investors and NBFCs.

We are in the final stretch toward our first close. The paperwork and regulatory steps are in our last mile. We are focused on assembling a high‑quality first close anchored by operator LPs and key institutional partners. 

How does your deal pipeline look?

Dhanda and Mohanty: We have already started warehousing a small number of early deals. Our pipeline is very strong, but given how hot AI and agentic AI have become, there is a significant signal‑to‑noise challenge. Many startups use AI or agent labels superficially, so we have to dig deep to separate genuine agentic architectures from thin LLM wrappers. 

Deals flow through multiple channels: inbound applications via a platform embedded in our website, which itself is being enhanced with our own agentic tooling; co‑investment opportunities with other early‑stage funds; and relationships built through industry events and associations. Because our thesis is sharply defined, a large part of our inbound flow is already filtered towards enterprise and agentic AI.

How do you handle the complexity and cost of diligence for AI‑heavy startups?

Dhanda and Mohanty: We acknowledge that technical and architectural diligence for AI‑centric companies is more demanding than for many generic software startups. By our own assessment, we spend roughly 35% more effort per deal on deep technical evaluation, particularly in understanding whether there is real innovation at the AI or agent level. 

However, instead of accepting this as a pure cost, we have built and are continuing to build our own AI tools to support sourcing, triage and analysis.

Given your operator depth, why not run a startup studio or accelerator? 

Dhanda and Mohanty: The team has experimented with studio‑like and accelerator‑like models and thought about them seriously. Our conclusion is that studios and accelerators demand a very different economic model and an extremely high‑touch operating style at a much earlier stage than the one we want to focus on. 

We prefer to concentrate our time and capital on being a high‑conviction, specialist fund: selecting strong, product‑centric, IP‑driven founding teams and then adding value through strategic guidance, enterprise go‑to‑market and access to customers and networks. In our view, this is the best way to balance impact for founders with disciplined outcomes and returns for LPs.

Mumbai-based Wyser Capital, led by Suresh Vaswani, Supria Dhanda and Satyakam Mohanty, is raising Rs 120 crore ($13.2 ......

Wyser Capital’s partners on building an operator-led fund for the agentic AI era

Dilasha Seth

KBW Ventures, the private investment office of Saudi Arabia’s Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed bin Talal, pivoted to growth-stage investments last year, driven by higher success rates and a funding gap at that stage.

VCCircle caught up with the firm’s chief investment officer Ekta Tolani to discuss its investment strategy, sectors in focus, and outlook for the regional market, as the Riyadh-headquartered family office looks to increase exposure to the MENA region. 

Tolani, however, noted that the region still lacks a robust growth ecosystem and exit infrastructure. She also said the firm, which operates a pro rata investment model in the US, may replicate this approach in the MENA region over time. 

KBW Ventures, which backs US-based technology companies and manages a portfolio of around 100 companies, aims to increase the share of regional investments over time, she added. Edited excerpts: 

How has KBW Ventures' investment strategy evolved? 
Prince Khaled has been investing in venture capital for a long time, but the formal entity, KBW Ventures, was established around 2016-17. Since then, it has been the primary vehicle for all his venture investments.

We invest primarily in technology companies. Historically, our investments ranged from pre-seed to pre-IPO. However, since last year, we’ve refined the strategy to focus more on growth-stage investments because we see higher success rates there and a large global gap in that space, particularly in this region.

Is the focus also shifting toward investing in the region?
That’s not entirely new. We always wanted to, but the regional ecosystem earlier lacked the depth of opportunities we sought. However, over the past couple of years, there’s been a major shift towards stronger regulatory support, ecosystem-building by large institutions such as PIF and Mubadala, and growing encouragement for entrepreneurship.

These developments are driving better-quality founders. That’s exactly the kind of entrepreneurs we want to back.

When you say growth stage, do you mean Series B and above?
Typically, we start with Series A.

Do you prefer to lead rounds? What is your investment model?

We don’t lead rounds. We prefer to co-invest alongside lead investors we’re aligned with, which are usually top-tier firms such as Sequoia and Andreessen Horowitz of the world.

We also operate a pro-rata model. Early-stage investors often want to reinvest in their winners as they scale, but they may not always have the capital or mandate to do so. We step in and invest on their behalf to protect their ownership, sharing a portion of our carry with them.

This gives us access to rounds that are typically oversubscribed, rounds an outsider wouldn’t easily get into. It also adds layers of due diligence, including the existing investor’s assessment, our US VC team’s analysis, and validation from a major lead investor who has already signed a term sheet. 

Have you implemented the pro-rata model in the region?
We have not yet implemented the pro rata model regionally, because it’s still a new concept here.

For now, most of our regional deals come directly to us, either aligned with our portfolio ethos or via strong referrals from trusted networks. So they are primarily direct investments. But over time, we intend to introduce the pro rata model here as well, as it strengthens due diligence and reduces noise.

What’s the typical ticket size?
Our cheque size depends on the strategic alignment with our regional priorities. For instance, if a company operates in a priority sector such as sustainable food supply, which aligns with regional food security goals, we may write a larger cheque. We see such investments as creating potential future collaborations that directly or indirectly benefit the region.

Since we’re not a conventional fund with strict allocation rules, we maintain that flexibility.

Within technology, which sectors or subsectors excite you most, especially in AI?
Everything is AI now, which makes screening harder. But at the same time, any company without AI looks outdated. Within tech, our key focus areas are B2B SaaS, fintech, gaming, food security, and healthcare.

In B2B SaaS, we’ve consistently seen higher success and clearer paths to profitability compared to R&D-heavy ventures that may take decades to commercialize. Fintech is one of our favorite sectors and is a top priority for us, and it aligns perfectly with the Middle East’s regional priorities.

We have also seen strong traction in gaming, as these companies can scale incredibly fast, from zero to millions of users in months. The region’s demographics and spending capacity make it a natural fit.

How do you see the regional VC landscape evolving over the next five years?
We’re entering a very exciting phase. The macro tailwinds are strong, and governments are actively pushing diversification, digitization, and innovation.

We’ll likely see more cross-border collaboration among GCC countries, creating larger addressable markets, and a rise in corporate venture capital (CVC), as traditional conglomerates will start investing in or acquiring startups that complement their core businesses.

There will also be increased secondary transactions, giving earlier investors partial exits. These developments will improve liquidity and encourage more professional capital inflow.

At KBW Ventures, our goal is to back companies that can scale globally but have regional relevance. We want to help founders access global networks, not just local funding.

What is still missing from the regional VC ecosystem?

Growth and exit infrastructure. 

We have seen the infusion of billions in the early-stage ecosystem from large institutions and angel/early-stage investors, and the region aims to develop financial markets. However, there remains a gap in meeting that milestone because we do not have a growth ecosystem in place. 

The growth stage funding gap is close to $20 billion in the region alone, and if addressed within the three- to five-year time frame, it will widely bridge the growth funding gap and contribute significantly to the Vision 2030 goal towards building robust regional financial markets. Once investors can see the path to exit, we are more likely to see funding coming from a wide range of investors, not just large institutions.

KBW Ventures, the private investment office of Saudi Arabia’s Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed bin Talal, pivoted to growth-......

To expand regional exposure, may bring pro rata model to MENA: KBW Ventures’ Tolani

Debjyoti Roy

Ranjani Raghavan

Titan Company Ltd, the Tata Group’s watch and jewellery retailing arm, is in an advanced stage of discussion to pick up a majority stake in lifestyle gadget brand Noise, at least two individuals familiar with the development told VCCircle.

The transaction could be valuing the target homegrown consumer electronics company between ₹700 crore and ₹800 crore ($90-$103 million). The people cited above said on condition of anonymity that the company’s size is around ₹400 crore and typically the category draws a valuation of 2x multiples.

According to one of them, the increasing demand for gadgets, especially wearables, may have fetched Bengaluru-based Titan’s interest for the Gurgaon-based Noise, operated by Nexxbase Marketing Pvt Ltd.

Email queries sent to Noise went unanswered till press time. Titan declined to comment.

Noise had earlier hired mid-market boutique investment bank IndigoEdge to scout for potential financial investors. In 2020, VCCircle reported that Noise was seeking to raise nearly ₹100 crore at a valuation of as much as ₹500 crore.

Noise was founded by cousins Amit and Gaurav Khatri in 2018. The company began its business by selling smartphone cases. It later diversified into smart wearable devices, action cameras, portable speakers, Bluetooth headphones and wireless chargers. It competes with the likes of boAt, JBL, Jabra, Sennheiser, Sony, Realme, Amazefit, etc.

In August last year, the company announced that despite the pandemic, the brand has witnessed an impressive growth trajectory with over 100% growth in the past 30 months.

Titan Company Ltd, a joint venture between the Tata Group and the Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation (TIDCO), launched its operations in 1987 under the name Titan Watches Ltd.

In 1994, Titan diversified into jewellery and subsequently into eyewear segments. Titan has also created lifestyle brands across different product categories including fragrances (SKINN), accessories and Indian dress wear (TANEIRA). The company has been bullish on wearable as a segment, both organically and inorganically. In February 2020, the company had acqui-hired smart devices manufacturer Hug Innovations Inc. as part of its strategy to focus on the fast-growing wearables market.

The division also made an entry into the new category of audio accessories by launching over-the-head (OTH) headphones and truly wireless (TWS) earphones.

However, the watches and wearables division took a hit during FY21 as the contribution dipped to ₹1,580 crore from ₹2,616 crore a year before. Its profit also declined to ₹65 crore as against ₹365 crore during the period under review, as per the company’s latest annual report.

In the broader wearables and earphones segment, boAt has filed its draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) to raise ₹2,000 crore through an initial public offering (IPO) in January this year.

VCCircle was first to report in September last year that the Warburg Pincus-backed brand is gearing up for IPO. boAt had also acquired Delhi-based consumer electronics brand Tagg Digital in June last year. 

Titan Company Ltd, the Tata Group’s watch and jewellery retailing arm, is in an advanced stage of discussion to pick up...

Titan eyes majority stake in consumer electronics brand Noise

Micro venture capital firm Atrium Angels, founded by Indian School of Business (ISB) alumni to invest in startups founded by ISB alumni, has introduced a new investment vehicle focused on backing companies in the consumer domain.  

Atrium Angels, which focuses on providing pre-seed and seed-stage capital to startups with at least one co-founder from ISB, launched its maiden fund in 2021. It has now unveiled Consumer Collective by Atrium, a fund created by operators and for operators.  

The fund will target the next generation of purpose-driven consumer brands and enablers, offering not just capital but also contextual guidance to help nurture early-stage consumer businesses. 

Consumer Collective by Atrium has secured investments from several founders of direct-to-consumer (D2C) brands, including Amit Khatri and Gaurav Khatri, co-founders of consumer electronics brand Noise; Vibhor Sahare, CEO and co-founder of ANS Commerce; Bhisham Bhateja of The Man Company; and Chirag Taneja, founder of Gokwik, among others. 

Atrium Angels is an alumni network-driven, sector-agnostic vehicle that places a strong emphasis on founder support. 

After launching its first fund in 2021, Atrium raised its second fund in 2024. The second fund’s portfolio includes companies such as end-to-end e-procurement platform Centriti, used commercial vehicles buying platform 91Trucks, toy shopping platform Legend of Toys, mini supermarket chain SuperK, cash flow observability and reconciliation platform Zenstatement, B2B marketplace for pre-owned medical equipment Zoplar, and tech-enabled mental health startup Lissun.  

The first fund backed startups such as refurbished two-wheeler marketplace Beepkart, social-investing platform for retail investors Stockgro, full-stack supply chain financing platform Cashflo, video-first, remote conferencing platform GoodMeetings, data query engine E6data, AI-driven customer data management platform Lemnisk, career-focused coaching and placement platform Function Up, B2B furniture marketplace GoodHome, full-stack cross border logistics platform Intogio, and agritech company KiVi Agrosperity.  

Atrium Angels has already exited one of its portfolio firms, PropCoin, an alternate asset investment platform. 

Micro venture capital firm Atrium Angels, founded by Indian School of Business (ISB) alumni to invest in startups ......

Micro VC firm Atrium launches consumer-focused investment vehicle

Lifestyle gadget brand Noise is in discussions with several venture capital and mid-market private equity firms to raise its first institutional round of funding, three people privy to the development told VCCircle.

The consumer electronics brand is seeking to raise nearly Rs 100 crore ($13.5 million) at a valuation of as much as Rs 500 crore, one of the persons said, asking not to be named.

Another person said the company has hired boutique investment banking firm IndigoEdge to scout for potential investors.

The company is in discussions with CX Partners, Amicus Capital, A91 Partners and Paragon Partners, among other investment firms, the third person said.

Noise co-founder Amit Khatri denied the development and said he “cannot confirm the veracity of facts”. He didn’t elaborate.

IndigoEdge, Amicus Capital, A91 Partners and Paragon Partners didn’t respond to requests seeking comment till the time of publishing this article. CX Partners declined to comment.

Noise, operated by Gurgaon-based Nexxbase Marketing Pvt. Ltd, was founded by cousins Amit and Gaurav Khatri in 2014. The company began its business by selling smartphone cases. It later diversified into smart wearable devices, action cameras, portable speakers, bluetooth headphones and wireless chargers.

The company claims to have sold over 3 million units till date. According to a report by market research firm International Data Corporation, Noise emerged as the leading wearable watch brand in the country with 25.6% market share in the April-June quarter of 2020. The ranking is based on unit shipments, according to IDC.  

Noise’s net sales jumped to Rs 42 crore for 2018-19 from Rs 24.5 crore the year before. Its net profit soared to Rs 1.8 crore from Rs 60 lakh, as per VCCEdge, the data and research platform of Mosaic Digital.

The company competes with the likes of boAt, PTron, Boult and Mivi among its Indian peers. However, foreign companies such as Sony, Skullcandy, JBL and Xiaomi have a dominant presence in India’s audio accessories market.

Last week, VCCircle reported that US-based PE firm Warburg Pincus had emerged as the frontrunner to invest in Fireside Ventures-backed boAt. Venture capital firm A91 Partners is also in the race to invest in the company.

Lifestyle gadget brand Noise is in discussions with several venture capital and mid-market private equity firms to raise its first...

Consumer electronics brand Noise dials PE, VC firms for large cheque

Sreeja Biswas

Reliance Industries Ltd and Walt Disney Co have signed a non-binding term sheet to merge their India media and entertainment operations, a media report said. 

Billionaire Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance aims to complete the merger process by the end of January, subject to regulatory approvals, The Economic Times reported, citing people aware of the matter. 

Reliance is likely to own 51% in the combined operations while Disney would hold 49%, the report said. 

SoftBank-FirstCry

Japanese tech investor SoftBank has sold part of its stake in IPO-bound retailer FirstCry, media reports said. 

SoftBank recently divested a stake worth Rs 630 crore (about $76 million) in FirstCry, the Press Trust of India reported, citing sources. This takes the total amount that SoftBank has pulled out from FirstCry to around $310 million, the report said.  

Separately, The Economic Times reported, citing sources, SoftBank’s holding has now fallen below 25% from 29-30% a few years ago. The report said that buyers in the recent transaction included family offices of cricketer Sachin Tendulkar, Ravi Modi of Manyavar, Kris Gopalakrishnan of Infosys, and the TVS group.  

SoftBank invested $400 million in FirstCry in 2020, the report said.  

TPG-Greenko 

Private equity firm TPG, via its Rise Climate Fund, is likely to invest in Greenko Group, one of India’s largest renewable energy companies, Moneycontrol reported, citing people aware of the matter. 

Greenko is in talks to secure funding of up to $750 million for its green ammonia business, the report said. 

TPG Rise has entered into an exclusivity agreement with Greenko and the deal may be announced in coming months, the report said.   

IL&FS 

Crisis-ridden infrastructure finance firm IL&FS is set to divest its stake in three road projects, The Economic Times reported. These projects are Baleshwar-Kharagpur Expressway, Jharkhand Infrastructure Implementation Company, and Jharkhand Road Projects Implementation Company, it said. 

The IL&FS board aims to address a collective debt burden of Rs 3,500 crore tied to these projects through the sale. The move comes after the company's new board faced obstacles in obtaining approvals to transfer these assets to an infrastructure investment trust (InvIT), as initially planned, the report said. 

Delays in approvals from lenders, notably State Bank of India, and sluggish progress impacting Baleshwar-Kharagpur project’s viability prompted the board to reconsider the InvIT transfer, the report said. 

Noise 

Noise, the Gurugram-based gadget and wearables brand, has attained a valuation of $460 million (around Rs 3,820 crore) following an investment by global audio powerhouse Bose, news website Entrackr reported. 

Noise raised Rs 83 crore ($10 million) in its Series A round, Entrackr said, citing regulatory filings. This investment results in Bose Corporation securing a 2.17% stake in Noise.  

Bose announced its investment in Noise earlier this month. 

Byju’s

Byju Raveendran, the founder and chief executive officer of edtech giant Byju's, has asked the company’s investors to inject about $300 million more into the company in exchange for a higher stake, Business Standard reported, citing people aware of the matter.  

Raveendran's proposal came after shareholder demands for a board revamp to wield greater influence over company operations, the report said. 

Byju’s has raised $5.8 billion from a large group of investors including General Atlantic, Sofina, Qatar Investment Authority, BlackRock, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, Peak XV Partners, Silver Lake, Bond Capital, Tencent, and Tiger Global. But the company has been struggling for the past many months as demand for online learning fell. Byju’s has defaulted on its debt and reported a big loss for 2021-22. 

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