Research and development-led speciality chemicals platform Distil has secured $3.1 million in a seed funding round led by Jungle Ventures and India Quotient, with participation from other investors and operators.
Distil’s team currently includes scientists, engineers, and after-sales support staff. The newly secured capital will be used to expand its teams across sales, R&D, technical/procurement, marketing, and technology development. Additionally, Distil plans to develop proprietary products and establish itself as a speciality chemicals franchise in the life sciences segment, including flavours and fragrances, food ingredients, pharma, and personal care, across India and international markets such as the US, EU, and MENA region.
Atanuu Agarrwal, Co-founder and CEO of Distil, said: “At Distil, we recognise the opportunity to build a global leader in R&D-led speciality chemicals from India. The support from our partners and investors, particularly Jungle Ventures and India Quotient, marks a significant milestone as we scale our operations. We are grateful for their trust and excited about the journey ahead.”
Founded by Agarrwal, Karan Hirani, and Viraj Shah, Distil offers customisable and scalable solutions through a tech-enabled platform for the procurement of speciality chemicals. According to the company, it aims to address inefficiencies in the value chain, including fragmentation with multiple intermediaries, unreliable quality, long lead times, challenges posed by minimum order quantities, and lack of alternatives, by leveraging the expertise of its founding team.
Rishab Malik, Partner (Seed investments) at Jungle Ventures, said: “We are pleased to lead this funding round for Distil. 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.”
(Inputs from bl intern Vidushi Nautiyal)