Distil, a startup building a platform for specialty chemicals, secured $3.1 million in seed funding. This round is led by Jungle Ventures and India Quotient, with participation from other investors.
This marks Jungle Venture’s first seed investment in India since the launch of its First Cheque@Jungle programme, which is aimed at investing at least $2 million in startups from the idea to the seed stage, according to a joint news release from the venture capital firm and Distil on Thursday.
Distil plans to leverage the funding to grow in several ways. The startup will expand their sales, research, and development teams while investing in other departments. This growth spurt aims to develop their specialty chemicals and establish themselves as a major player in life sciences, including flavors, fragrances, food ingredients, pharmaceuticals, and personal care products.
Distil aims to serve not only the Indian market but also international ones like the US, EU, and the Middle East and North Africa region.
The company was founded by a talented trio – IIT-Bombay alumni Atanuu Agarrwal, Karan Hirani, and Viraj Shah. Distil’s tech-powered platform simplifies specialty chemical procurement, offering customizable and scalable solutions.
Distil aims to solve major pain points in the specialty chemicals industry. Fragmented supply chains with unreliable quality, long wait times, and limited options are all challenges Distil seeks to eliminate.
A tech-enabled platform offering customized formulations and manufacturing, ensuring clients get exactly what they need to meet specific performance and regulatory standards.
This funding round is particularly interesting because it’s the first seed investment by Jungle Ventures under their First Cheque@Jungle program. This program offers unique investment terms: half the investment is in equity, and the other half is in convertible notes. These notes convert to equity later, with no limit on the valuation at conversion, potentially offering Distil a significant boost down the line.
“Their focus on solving supply chain challenges through R&D and technology aligns perfectly with our investment philosophy. The founding team is exceptionally strong, with a mix of a second-time founder and seasoned operators with over 15 years of experience in the speciality chemicals domain,” said Rishab Malik, partner of seed investments at Jungle Ventures.
