Clean-tech startup Chakr Innovation, which counts SBICap Ventures-backed Neev Fund II among its investors, has raised $23 million (around Rs 200 crore) in its Series C funding round led by growth capital investor Iron Pillar.
The startup will use the capital to expand its manufacturing capacity, international growth, and backward integration, it said in a statement. It will also use part of the capital to further its research and development.
Ambit Private Limited acted as the exclusive financial advisor for the fundraise.
"This funding is a major step toward realizing our vision of building world-class material science technologies from India. With these resources, we will expand globally, strengthen our R&D capabilities, and establish the country’s first dedicated materials science center focused on critical materials,” said Kushagra Srivastava, founder and chief executive of Chakr Innovation.
Founded in 2016 by IIT Delhi graduates Srivastava and Bharti Singhla, Chakra provides retrofit emission control devices (RECD) for internal combustion engines that reduce emissions without impacting engine performance.
Its product portfolio also includes DeNOx technology, a remote Diesel Generator monitoring system (IoT), and Metal-Air battery solutions that help companies achieve their sustainability goals. It has over 42 patent applications.
The team comprises over 200 engineers and scientists and more than 450 full-time employees, and has manufacturing facilities in Gurugram and Pune.
The latest funding comes about four years after Chakra’s last fundraise. It last raised an undisclosed sum in a Series B round from Neev Fund II, a fund managed by SBICap Ventures, in November 2021. Previously, IAN had led a Rs 19 crore round in Chakra along with Jyoti Sagar and the IDFC Parampara fund in 2019.
