SUMMARY

The startup plans to utilise the recent funds to increase its manufacturing capability, speed up worldwide progress, scale up backward integration and shore up R&D

The startup, which employs a workforce of 450 folks, additionally claims to have thus far filed 42 patent functions and operates manufacturing amenities in Gurugram and Pune

Based in 2016, Chakr’s flagship providing is an emission management machine for diesel mills, which might mitigate air air pollution and its hostile environmental and public well being results

ONGC-backed local weather tech startup Chakr Innovation has raised $23 Mn (INR 193.5 Cr) in a Sequence C funding spherical led by Iron Pillar. 

In a press release, the startup stated that it plans to utilise the recent funds to increase its manufacturing capability, speed up worldwide progress and scale up backward integration. A portion of the capital can even be utilised to additional spend money on analysis and improvement (R&D).

“This funding is a significant step towards realising our imaginative and prescient of constructing world-class materials science applied sciences from India. With these sources, we’ll increase globally, strengthen our R&D capabilities, and set up the nation’s first devoted supplies science middle targeted on crucial supplies…,’ stated cofounder and CEO Kushagra Srivastava.

Based in 2016 by IIT Delhi alumni Srivastava, Chakr’s flagship providing is an emission management machine for diesel mills to mitigate air air pollution and its hostile environmental and public well being results. The startup claims to cater to greater than 2,000 clients and put in 5,000 of its units.

It additionally claims to have developed an alternative choice to lithium-ion batteries, which could be fully constructed indigenously and have increased power density than conventional batteries. Chakr Innovation can be constructing an power storage expertise to cut back India’s dependence on imported lithium-ion chemistry. 

The startup, which employs a workforce of 450 folks, additionally claims to have thus far filed 42 patent functions and operates manufacturing amenities in Gurugram and Pune. 

Commenting on the fundraise, Iron Pillar’s Ashok Ananthakrishnan added, “… What attracted us to Chakr was the mission pushed tradition of the corporate and the profitable commercialisation of its R&D efforts in a brief span of seven years… We’re proud to accomplice Chakr as they increase their international footprint and proceed to pioneer transformative tech worldwide”.

That is Chakr’s second funding spherical prior to now two years. In 2023, the local weather tech startup raised INR 18 Cr from the Export-Import Financial institution of India beneath the financial institution’s Ubharte Sitare Programme. Previous to this in 2021, the firm additionally raised an undisclosed sum as a part of a Sequence B spherical from SBICap Ventures. 

Though India’s local weather tech ecosystem has been making wholesome strides prior to now few years, the sector is but to see the identical funding maturity or depth as different outstanding areas. Partly responsible for this are challenges akin to excessive gestation interval, shallow late-stage funding, weak shopper demand in a price-conscious market and excessive upfront prices. 

Nonetheless, this narrative has been witnessing a change. The rise of philanthropic capital and influence funds, rising coverage push, production-linked-incentive schemes, sustainability targets and environmental-consciousness have made local weather tech house a horny proposition for VC and PE corporations.

In consequence, Indian local weather tech startups, as per Inc42 information, have raised greater than $2.2 Bn in funding prior to now 18 months. The sector now counts greater than 800 energetic startups and a rising band of traders.

In Might, deeptech startup Alt Carbon bagged $12 Mn in its seed spherical led by US-based AI robotics firm Bodily Intelligence’s founder Lachy Groom. One other local weather tech startup FluxGen secured INR 28 Cr in its Pre-Sequence A spherical led by IAN Alpha Fund in March.