In a seed funding round, Lyskraft, an omnichannel fashion startup founded by co-founders of Zomato, Myntra, and Cultfit, Mukesh Bansal, and Mohit Gupta, raised $26 million.
According to a press release from the company, Peak XV Partners led the round, with Prosus, Sofina, and partners of DST Global participating. Participating angel investors included Deep Kalra and Rajesh Magow of Makemytrip, as well as Deepinder Goyal, the CEO and founder of Zomato.
After several months of development in stealth mode, the startup recently unveiled an online platform and an upscale pop-up store at Ambience Mall in Gurugram as part of a market testing campaign. With new designers added every week, it features over 15 top hand-selected women’s fashion brands and designers at once.
Additionally, customers will be able to purchase these brands on the company website.
The platform will initially cover women’s fashion before moving on to other lifestyle areas.
Mohit will serve as co-founder and CEO of Lyskraft, with the company’s headquarters located in Gurugram. Mukesh will serve as co-founder and strategic advisor.
“The future of retail is omnichannel, especially for categories like premium fashion where touch, feel and experience of the actual product are key to consumer choice in the category. India’s deep roots in fabrics, craft, creative heritage & manufacturing strength also put us at a unique position to play a large role at the global stage,” said Gupta.
Seed stage startups have raised a substantial amount in early 2024 (time period) despite the challenging fundraising environment. Lyskraft was the largest seed round raiser with $26 million, but Generative AI startups Ema and Neysa raised close behind with $25 million and $20 million, respectively. Origami, Optimo Loan, LightFury Games, and Veera are a few other noteworthy companies that received seed funding this year.
