Ola Electric, Agilitas Sports, Dr. Paws, Inito, Earthful, NeoSapien, Toffee Coffee Roasters & More 🚀
India’s D2C engine is firing stronger than ever — from breakthrough EV manufacturing and celebrity-backed sports brands to fast-scaling pet care networks, AI-led diagnostics, wellness innovators, and
National Disruptors:
Ola Electric Steps Into EV Manufacturing Leadership with 4680 Bharat Cell Deliveries
Ola Electric has started delivering vehicles with their Bharat Cell 4680 battery, made in India. This makes them the first Indian company to design, make, and put together both the battery pack and cell themselves. This gives Ola Electric more control over their product supply and changes the game for the country’s EV industry.
The S1 Pro+ (5.2 kWh) electric scooter uses this tech first. It’s the first in India with the 4680 Bharat Cell, which means it can go farther, perform better, and is safer. It has a 13 kW motor that goes from 0–40 kmph in just 2.1 seconds. The S1 Pro+ can travel 320 km and has four modes: Hyper, Sports, Normal, and Eco. They’ve also added dual ABS, disc brakes in the front and back, better design, comfortable seats, and new colors to make it feel like a high-end EV.
A company person said this is more than just a better product. Deliveries are happening now, and people are happily riding the first Indian scooters with our 4680 Bharat Cell. This is huge, not just for Ola, but for India to become a main player in the EV world. This rollout is a key change, showing Ola’s move from putting EVs together to being a major force in energy and mobility. This lines up with the bigger story of Indian D2C updates, where local innovation is starting to replace the need to import tech.
Virat Kohli Takes Equity Leap in Agilitas Sports as One8 Joins Its Brand Universe
Virat Kohli is moving beyond just endorsing brands. He’s now becoming a brand builder with real skin in the game, investing ₹40 crore in Agilitas Sports and bringing his One8 athleisure brand into their portfolio.
This change shows how the D2C scene in India is growing up. Celeb-backed brands are moving from just showing up in ads to actually owning part of the business. Agilitas Sports announced this through a video from Co-founder & CEO Abhishek Ganguly. This partnership points to a long-term plan for building a brand with tech, production, and a global game plan. This fits right in with where D2C market is headed in 2025.
Kohli and Ganguly’s relationship goes back ten years to their time at Puma. They previously worked together to create and grow One8 through a licensing setup with Puma. Kohli turned down a contract renewal worth a reported ₹300 crore to take a stake in Agilitas. This move sends a clear message that owning equity brings more value in the long run than endorsements.
Dr. Paws Raises ₹29.3 Crore to Build India’s Fastest-Growing Veterinary Care Network, Strengthening Its D2C Pet Care Vision
Bengaluru-based veterinary clinic chain Dr. Paws, has secured ₹29.3 crore ($3.5 million) in a pre-Series A funding round led by Chiratae Ventures, marking it as positive news for the D2C sector in India. Sauce, an existing investor, also participated in the round, along with venture debt from Trifecta Capital and Stride Ventures. This shows growing investor confidence in the quickly growing D2C pet care brands area.
Dr. Paws plans to use the new funds to support a D2C growth strategy. This includes adding nine new clinics in Bengaluru by 2026, expanding into Hyderabad and Pune, and starting at-home veterinary services. The business also intends to introduce its own brand of pet treats, supplements, and pet food, in response to increasing demand for specialized, science-backed products and rise of direct-to-consumer sales in pet food in India.
Udit Gadkary and Rakesh Santhapur founded Dr. Paws, which runs 24/7 veterinary clinics that offer consultations, surgeries, diagnostics, and preventive care. With three clinics open and two more being built, the brand is setting itself up as one of the newest D2C startups addressing quality, availability, and transparency issues in India’s developing pet healthcare sector. Since it began, Dr. Paws has handled over 30,000 appointments and 800 surgeries. Each clinic has become profitable within five months, which suggests possible scaling and solid D2C business practices in India.
Business Boost:
Inito Raises $29 Million Series B to Build the Future of AI-Led At-Home Diagnostics
Inito has secured $29 million in Series B funding, a big step for both the company and the direct-to-consumer (D2C) space in India.
Bertelsmann India Investments led the round, with continued support from Fireside Ventures. This brings Inito’s total funding to $45 million. In a time where D2C news in India often revolves around science-backed, consumer-focused innovations, Inito is a fast-growing D2C brand that’s changing how we monitor our health at home.
Aayush Rai and Varun AV started Inito in 2021. Their first product was an AI-powered at-home fertility monitor that provides reliable hormone testing without needing a lab visit. Since then, Inito has analyzed over 30 million hormone data points and assisted tens of thousands of pregnancies, a number comparable to the annual IVF cycles in the U.S. This extensive data makes Inito a global leader in AI-driven diagnostics and a standout in India’s direct-to-consumer market, where advanced science and everyday convenience are coming together.
The new funding will help Inito create a universal at-home diagnostics platform using AI-engineered antibodies. This is a huge shift from traditional antibody development and a bold move in the D2C industry. The founders aim to let people regularly check their health from anywhere with clinical accuracy. Inito plans to redesign diagnostic tools into smart, digital, user-friendly products, monitoring everything from hormones impacting fertility and metabolism to markers affecting sleep, mood, and long-term health.
Earthful Raises ₹26 Crore to Scale Women’s Health & Preventive Nutrition, Strengthening Its Position in India’s D2C Wellness Ecosystem
Plant-based nutrition startup Earthful has secured ₹26 crore ($2.89 million) in a pre-Series A round led by Fireside Ventures and V3 Ventures, with participation from Atrium Angels. This funding is a key step for the brand and the D2C space in India, where wellness brands are creating new categories. After getting nearly $1 million in earlier funding and appearing on Shark Tank India, Earthful is now a D2C startup changing clean-label nutrition in India.
Earthful’s sales have grown more than threefold in the past year, with returning customers driving most of the income. This shows that Indian consumers are increasingly interested in preventive wellness and simple nutrition. Founded by sisters Veda Gogineni and Sudha Gogineni, the brand stands out among D2C wellness startups because it focuses on science-backed, plant-based recipes and clear ingredient lists. It also aims to make nutrition available for women at all stages of life. This growth matches D2C market expectations, where areas like women’s health, clean supplements, and plant proteins are still growing.
The new funds will help Earthful grow its D2C business, especially in women’s health, which the founders see as an important but underserved area. The company plans to expand its teams in Hyderabad and Mumbai, improve product research, and invest in brand growth, digital strategies, and distribution to build a strong D2C business in India. This funding shows that investors are increasingly interested in VC-backed D2C brands, particularly those combining science and consumer wellness.
Conscious Chemist Raises $1.8 Mn to Accelerate Product Innovation and Target Rs 500 Cr ARR
Conscious Chemist, a rapidly growing skincare brand, has secured Rs 15 crore (about $1.8 million) in bridge funding led by Atomic Capital. First Port Capital and IPV International also participated, showing confidence in the company’s science-backed method and its place in the quickly changing Indian direct-to-consumer beauty market.
This funding is crucial for Conscious Chemist as they aim to disrupt the beauty and skincare category. They plan to use the funds to strengthen their leadership, expand their inventory and marketing, and invest in research for product improvements. The brand is also planning to expand into scalp and hair care, a new area in the wellness market that is expected to grow.
Founded in 2021 by Robin Gupta and Prakher Mathur, Conscious Chemist stands out by using clinical-grade ingredients and dermatological insights. With over 30 products, including acne treatments, sunscreens, and serums, the brand uses ingredients like salicylic acid, ceramides, peptides, and retinol. This product method aligns with current consumer trends, where people value ingredient knowledge when making purchases.
Founders Funded:
NeoSapien Raises $2 Million to Build India’s First AI-Native Wearable Ecosystem
In exciting D2C news from India, NeoSapien, a Bengaluru-based startup focused on wearable intelligence, has secured $2 million (₹18 crore) in seed funding. Merak Ventures led the round, with participation from prominent angel investors like Awais Ahmed from Pixxel, Anupam Mittal, Sameer Mehta from boAt, Namita Thapar, and Aprameya Radhakrishna.
This funding is a key moment for NeoSapien and the broader D2C space in India, where consumer tech innovations are gaining momentum. Founded in 2024 by Dhananjay Yadav and Aryan Yadav, NeoSapien is developing what many think could be a brand new category in D2C: AI-powered wearables designed to make everyday conversations more useful and insightful. Their main product, Neo 1, acts as a constant Personal AI Assistant, or second brain. It remembers things, thinks in real-time, understands multiple languages, and provides relevant advice based on context. Neo 1 supports more than 100 languages. It combines hardware and AI to give users a way to easily capture, process, and organize their daily lives.
This seed funding, a notable one in the AI-wearable category, will help NeoSapien speed up product development, increase market presence, and expand its engineering, design, and sales teams. This comes at a time when AI assistant wearables are becoming more popular worldwide, and investors expect NeoSapien to become a fast-growing D2C brand in the Indian tech hardware market.
Toffee Coffee Roasters Raises ₹5 Crore to Scale Its D2C Coffee Revolution Across India
Toffee Coffee Roasters, a specialty coffee brand that’s quickly making a name for itself in India’s booming direct-to-consumer (D2C) market, just landed ₹5 crore in a pre-Series A funding round. Investment firm IPV led the round, with contributions from 66 bridge partners, Abhijit Vemuganti, and Invesst.
This investment shows that people are becoming more confident in D2C brands in India, especially those that are changing the game when it comes to high-quality experiences in the food and beverage sector. Toffee Coffee Roasters, based in Mumbai, has already gained recognition on Shark Tank India and has the backing of Ritesh Agarwal. It’s now standing out as one of the D2C startups that’s bringing fresh ideas to India’s premium coffee scene.
Back in 2020, Toffee Coffee Roasters shifted its focus from a café-based business to a D2C model that prioritizes delivery across India. Since then, it’s become a major player in the D2C world, thanks to its consistent performance and innovative supply chain. The brand now serves over 200,000 customers through online marketplaces, its own website, and quick commerce channels. All of this happens at its 10,000 sq ft roastery, where they handle everything from sourcing and processing to roasting and packaging under one roof. This streamlined, direct approach allows them to offer better prices, higher quality, and greater transparency – all things that are important to today’s D2C businesses and customers.
Lumov Raises $1.2 Mn to Scale Orthopedic Recovery Innovation and Strengthen Healthcare Partnerships
Lumov, an orthopedic recovery startup based in Bengaluru, just got $1.2 million (Rs 10 crore) in seed funding led by Incubate Fund Asia. Others who chipped in include QRG Investments & Holdings (Havells Family Office), IIMA Ventures, SIDBI, and angel investors like Ashish Gupta, Saket Narang, Abhishek Goyal, and Arjun Vaidya. This shows investors are more and more sure about direct-to-consumer healthcare solutions that have solid clinical backing.
This new funding is a big deal for Lumov’s growth plans. The company plans to use the money to create new products, make things, build stronger partnerships with surgeons, and grow in Delhi NCR, Hyderabad, and Mumbai. This plan reflects what’s happening in the D2C market, where healthcare-focused and VC-backed brands are becoming more popular as people want specialized products that deliver results.
Saumaric Dangwal and Ankit Gupta started Lumov to create orthopedic recovery and rehab products for things like post-surgery recovery, pain control, and long-term mobility. These are areas that haven’t always been well-served in the Indian healthcare system. Unlike other rehab brands, Lumov works directly with orthopedic specialists at top hospitals like Manipal, Apollo, Sakra, and AIG. This helps them create products that tackle specific musculoskeletal problems in India, which sets them apart in the D2C world.
“Is it even a goal if it doesn’t scare you?”
When Go Zero was just beginning in 2022, monthly revenue was ₹3 lakh — yet the target was ₹1 crore a month. The kind of goal that feels more like a leap of faith than a plan. And behind that ambition, Kiran carried something most founders hesitate to admit: fear.
Fear of things breaking at scale.
Fear of the product failing at volume.
Fear of the dream collapsing under its own weight.
The gap between where they were and where they wanted to be felt enormous — like a paper boat dreaming of becoming a yacht. But fear, he realised, was not a sign to stop. It was a sign they were aiming high enough.
Three summers later, Go Zero crossed ₹100 crore ARR with a team of under 40 people.
But the fear didn’t go away.
Now the ₹500 crore ARR goal scares him the same way ₹100 crore once did — and that’s exactly why he knows it’s the right target.
Because unreasonable goals cannot be reached through funding or motivation alone.
They demand systems, discipline, and a team that believes in the impossible just as much as you do.
Kiran didn’t build Go Zero to play it safe.
If ₹100 crore was possible, ₹500 crore is simply the next uncomfortable milestone.
The gap between where you are and where you want to be?
That’s not the problem.
That’s the point
📌 D2C INSIDER WEEKLY UPDATE — A GREAT OPPORTUNITY TO VOLUNTEER (MUMBAI)
The CXO Meet – West is coming to Mumbai, and we’re opening volunteer applications for those who want to experience something truly special.
This is a unique opportunity to:
Work closely with the D2C Insider core team
Meet inspiring founders, operators, and creators
Understand how powerful communities are built
Be part of an event that creates real impact in the ecosystem
If you’re enthusiastic, curious, and love being around growth-driven people — this will be an incredible experience.
📍 Mumbai
🗓 20 December
⏰ 2 PM – 8 PM
Apply to volunteer:
Step in, contribute, learn — and make this milestone event even more memorable. 🌟🚀