From Accacia to Virohan, Indian companies on Forbes Asia's 100 to Watch list

2. Agnikul Cosmos

CEO: Srinath Ravichandran

Cofounded by Srinath Ravichandran and Moin SPM, Agnikul Cosmos develops launch rockets that send spacecraft, satellites, and other payloads into space. Its Agnibaan engine, meaning “fire arrow” in Sanskrit, is partially cryogenic, using liquid oxygen and conventional fuel. The company completed its first successful test launch from Sriharikota in May. Incubated by IIT Madras in 2017, Agnikul has raised $42 million to date, including a $26.7 million series B round from Celesta Capital, Rocketship.vc, Artha Select Fund, Artha Venture Fund, and existing investors like Mayfield India and Pi Ventures.

3. Airblack

CEO: Videt Jaiswal

Airblack offers online beauty and culinary courses that lead to government-certified diplomas. The Gurugram-based company has enrolled 35,000 students from India and the UAE and has raised over $10 million in funding from investors such as Blume Ventures, Elevation Capital, InfoEdge Ventures, and the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation.

4. Alyve Health

CEO: Shashank Avadhani

Alyve Health provides healthcare services to 400 Indian companies, preparing healthcare plans and offering fitness and nutrition consultations through in-house experts. In June, the company raised $5.5 million in series A financing from investors led by Axilor Ventures, backed by Senapathy Gopalakrishnan. This brought Alyve's total funding to $6.5 million.

5. Ati Motors

CEO: Saurabh Chandra

The three-wheeled robots developed by Ati Motors are used in factories and warehouses. Branded Sherpa, the robots are capable of tugging trolleys, and thanks to sensors and the company’s AI-based software, can dodge obstacles. In 2023, Ati Motors raised $10.8 million in series A funding from a raft of investors including Blume Ventures, MFV Partners and True Ventures.

6. Digantara

CEO: Anirudh Sharma

Spacetech company Digantara is building what it calls a Google Maps for space. Commercial space companies and government agencies subscribe to its software, which tracks the movement of objects including debris and satellites. The company has raised almost $15 million, including a $12 million series A round completed in February from investors such as Aditya Birla Ventures, Peak XV Partners and Kalaari Capital.

7. Digivriddhi Technologies

CEO: Ragavan Venkatesan

Digivriddhi Technologies is a fintech platform targeting India’s dairy sector, which is the world’s largest by production. The company offers e-payments, insurance and loans to dairy owners overlooked by traditional banks. It also operates an online marketplace for dairy farmers to trade cows. Last year, the company raised $6 million in a series A funding round led by Omidyar Network India. Other backers include InfoEdge Ventures and Omnivore.

8. EF Polymer

CEO: Narayan Lal Gurjar

Using biodegradable materials such as banana and orange peels, EF Polymer has developed a hydrogel polymer that helps soil retain water, boost crop yields and reduce fertilizer use. The company is led by a team of Indian scientists but also has operations in Japan. In 2023, EF Polymer raised nearly $4 million in series A funding from investors such as Beyond Next Ventures and Okinawa Development Finance Corp.

9. ElectricPe

CEO: Avinash Sharma

ElectricPe operates an app for people to buy and charge electric two-wheelers. Through the app’s marketplace, customers can compare models, buy from local dealers and view available charging stations in their neighborhood. The Bangalore-based startup also offers a monthly subscription service that allows users unlimited charging at 25,000 charging stations nationwide. In July, ElectricPe closed an $8 million pre-series A funding round from investors including Green Frontier Capital, Blume Ventures and Micelio Fund.

10. EMotorad

CEO: Kunal Gupta

EMotorad makes electric bicycles for the Indian market. The Pune-based startup’s X-Factor model has a range of 40 kilometers per charge and its premium Desire model can last up to 80 kilometers. The company raised $20 million in a series B funding round last November led by Singapore-based Panthera Growth Partners, which included $2.5 million in debt.

11. Entropik

CEO: Ranjan Kumar

Entropik applies AI to market research. In surveys, calls and video meetings, its software analyzes written responses and also changes in voice tones and facial expressions to get a potentially more accurate reading of consumer interests. Entropik raised $25 million in February from investors led by Bessemer Venture Partners and SIG Venture Capital.

12. Fyllo

Year Founded: 2019

Co-CEOs: Sudhanshu Rai, Sumit Sheoran

Agritech company Fyllo wants to help Indian farmers boost crop yield with Internet of Things devices that can flag irrigation, fertilizer and pest control issues. Sensors in the field collect humidity, temperature and soil moisture data. In May, the company raised $4 million in fresh funding from investors led by IndiaQuotient and Sidbi Ventures, bringing total funding to $6 million.

13. indiagold

Cofounders: Deepak Abbot, Nitin Misra

Tapping into India’s mania for gold, fintech startup indiagold helps customers buy and sell gold, borrow against their own gold and store the precious metal in insured lockers. Its app has been downloaded over 1 million times from the Google Play store. In 2022, the startup raised a series A funding round of $22 million and investors included Alpha Wave, 3one4 Capital, PayU and Leo Capital.

14. LightMetrics

CEO: Soumik Ukil

The Bangalore-based company sells smart dash cams for vehicles that can detect risky driving behavior and generate a voice-based alert. LightMetrics says its products are being used in Australia, Canada, India, Singapore and the U.S., and the data can be stored locally. In 2023, the company raised $8.5 million in series A funding from investors including Beenext and Peak XV.

15. Orangewood Labs

CEO: Abhinav Das

Orangewood Labs makes affordable industrial robotic arms that can be used to perform tasks such as powder coating and spray painting. Its RoboGPT software allows the robots to respond to voice commands and texts, which reduces configuration time and makes them easier to use in factories. The company has raised $5.4 million in funding from investors including 7percent Ventures, Schox Ventures and Y Combinator.

16. Plum

CEO: Abhishek Poddar

Plum Benefits Insurance Brokers offers a range of employee insurance policies for Indian companies. It sources products such as group-based healthcare benefits, accident insurance and life insurance, and has a team of in-house doctors to provide telehealth services. In 2021, Plum raised $15.6 million in series A funding from investors led by Tiger Global. Last year, it launched more insurance products for businesses, including policies that cover losses due to cyberattacks.

17. Sarvam AI

Cofounders: Vivek Raghavan, Pratyush Kumar

Sarvam AI develops large language models (LLMs), aiming to make generative AI apps more accessible and accurate in India. In February, it announced a collaboration with Microsoft to promote its Indic voice LLM, which will first be available in Hindi before expanding to other Indian languages. Sarvam has raised $41 million and its series A round, completed in December 2023, was led by Lightspeed Venture Partners with participation by Peak XV and Khosla Ventures.

18. SpotDraft

CEO: Shashank Bijapur

Legal tech startup SpotDraft offers software to help businesses draft contracts more easily. Its Draftmate AI tool can extract key terms from Microsoft Word-based documents and turn them into contracts. Headquartered in Bangalore, the company raised $26 million in series A funding from investors led by tech billionaire Azim Premji’s Premji Invest. The company’s backers also include Prosus Ventures and the 100x Entrepreneur Fund.

19. Varaha

CEO: Madhur Jain

Varaha connects companies that have net-zero targets with carbon-neutral agriculture projects. Emission reductions from environmentally friendly cultivation practices, which Varaha estimates through data collection, remote sensing and soil analysis, become carbon credits that companies can buy. Varaha says it has enrolled more than 84,000 farmers who manage a combined 800,000 acres. In February, it raised $8.7 million in funding from investors led by VC firm RTP Global.

20. Virohan

CEO: Kunaal Dudeja

Virohan’s goal is to build India’s healthcare industry by training paramedics, clinical assistants and nurses, among others. It partners with universities across India to award diplomas and bachelor’s degrees in technician courses as well as in hospital administration and optometry. Virohan says it has enrolled more than 8,000 students. The company has raised over $12 million in funding, and its investors include ALES Japan, Blume Ventures and Rebright Partners.