SUMMARY

About one and a half months after Inc42 reported that fast trend startup KNOT can be elevating contemporary capital, the startup introduced the closure of its pre-Collection A spherical with a contemporary funding of $3 Mn

KNOT stated that it’ll use the contemporary capital to double down on product growth, develop past Mumbai and develop its roster of name partnerships.

The startup operates on a market mannequin and delivers trend merchandise from manufacturers like Snitch, The Souled Retailer, amongst others, to prospects in 60 minutes

Replace | July 16, 9:50 PM

About one and a half months after Inc42 reported that fast trend startup KNOT can be elevating contemporary capital, the startup introduced the closure of its pre-Collection A spherical with a contemporary funding of $3 Mn. The spherical was led by Kae Capital and noticed participation from Sparrow Capital, Boundless VC, Aukera Jewelry’s Kumar Saurabh in addition to present buyers WEH Ventures and All In Capital.

KNOT stated that it’ll use the contemporary capital to double down on product growth, develop past Mumbai and develop its roster of name partnerships.

The startup claims that, since its launch, it has partnered with over 70+ main manufacturers together with SNITCH, Bonkers Nook, The Souled Retailer, The Bear Home, and Off Obligation. Additional, it stated that it’s now processes hundreds of orders each month.

Unique | Might 29, 1:29 PM

Archit Nanda and Rachit Bansal’s fast trend startup KNOT is in talks to boost about $3 Mn in its maiden funding spherical led by Kae Capital, sources informed Inc42. 

The discussions are at a sophisticated stage, and the spherical is anticipated to be closed quickly, the sources added.

The spherical may even see participation from WEH Ventures and All In Capital.

Queries despatched to KNOT and Kae Capital on the funding spherical didn’t elicit any response until the time of publishing this story.

KNOT is a pivot from Slick, Nanda and Bansal’s earlier startup which allowed customers to go with one another anonymously. Slick aimed to revive personalised connections on social media and enhance customers’ confidence. It raised $2.1 Mn funding from WEH Ventures, iSeed Ventures, All In Capital, and Titan Capital. 

Though the social media platform scaled to 2 Mn customers, monetisation proved troublesome as its main target market – school college students – had restricted spending capability. Because the mannequin didn’t work, the founders started figuring out extra urgent issues they might remedy, retaining buyers within the loop about developments. Consequently, after they determined to pivot to fast trend in 2025, present buyers from Slick’s cap desk – WEH Ventures and All In Capital – additionally got here on board.

KNOT delivers trend merchandise to prospects in 60 minutes. The startup has a “Strive Earlier than You Purchase” mannequin, permitting customers to strive on clothes earlier than making a purchase order resolution. This strategy is geared toward eliminating lengthy waits and purchaser’s regret. 

KNOT operates on a market mannequin, whereby it pays manufacturers solely after a sale is made, with none upfront commitments. The platform has onboarded a number of D2C manufacturers, together with Snitch, The Souled Retailer, amongst others.

The startup is at present operational in Mumbai and plans to launch its service in Delhi within the coming months.

The Rise Of Quick Style Supply

The fast commerce phase is maturing quickly, and immediate gratification is not restricted to groceries or meals gadgets—customers now count on a variety of merchandise to be delivered rapidly. Style is without doubt one of the sectors the place this pattern is rising rapidly.

A number of startups have emerged over the previous 12 months who’re attempting to disrupt the style phase with fast deliveries. For example, fashion-focussed fast commerce platform Slikk lately raised $10 Mn (INR 85.12 Cr) in its Collection A spherical led by Nexus Enterprise Companions.

One other early mover is Bengaluru-based Blip, which was among the many first to experiment with fast trend supply. Ecommerce big Myntra additionally joined the race with the launch of its M-Now service, additional intensifying competitors within the area.

Earlier this week, quick trend model NEWME introduced the launch of its 60-minute supply service, NEWME Zip, in Bengaluru, following the success of its earlier rollout in Delhi. The service was first piloted within the nationwide capital with a 90-minute supply timeline. Inspired by its reception, NEWME has now expanded to Bengaluru, providing even quicker supply.

Whereas fast commerce has confirmed profitable in a number of classes, it’s nonetheless early days for trend, with each established gamers and new startups trying to crack the mannequin. 

On the coronary heart of that is the quickly rising Indian fast commerce market, which is anticipated to grow to be a $40 Bn alternative by 2030.