Beyond Appliances has raised ₹110 crore after ending FY26 with roughly ₹40 crore of net revenue. It now wants to build a ₹500 crore annualised business within three years, which means it has to become a very different company from what it is today.
₹40 crore to ₹500 crore is a 12.5x jump. The chimney and built-in hob market itself is growing at only around 10-12% annually, so Beyond cannot simply ride category growth. It has to take share from Faber, Elica, Kaff and Glen while also entering new categories such as ovens.
The company does have interesting products. Its Android chimney gets attention, but I am not sure that is the real opportunity because touchscreens, speakers and connected features can be copied if consumers want them. The Plug-N-Play chimney is more interesting. Priced below ₹20,000, it claims to work without the usual ducting and wall cutting, solving a real problem in rented homes, older apartments and kitchens where installation itself becomes a headache. If the product works well, Beyond could expand the market rather than just steal customers from an incumbent.
The challenge starts once the product has to scale. Around 60% of Beyond's sales currently come online. It has roughly 300-400 customer touchpoints and wants to reach 1,500-2,000. Faber, meanwhile, has more than 300 service franchises and around 1,500 technicians, while Stove Kraft reaches more than one lakh retail touchpoints across its portfolio. That distribution gap matters more than the product gap.
Appliances need inventory, distributors, retailer incentives, installation teams, spare parts, warehouses and service technicians. A ₹25,000 hob that stops working for a week because nobody can repair it will do more damage to the brand than any amount of marketing can fix.
This is also why ₹110 crore may be enough for the next phase, but probably not for the full journey to ₹500 crore. Beyond wants to add manufacturing capacity, enter new categories, expand retail and build service at the same time. All of that needs cash before it generates meaningful revenue.
The founders do have one advantage. Eshwar K Vikas comes from Mukunda Foods, giving Beyond engineering and kitchen-hardware experience rather than just branding capability. That improves its chances, but the main challenge remains unchanged: Beyond's real competition is not Faber's chimney, but Faber's distribution, service, manufacturing and trust built over years. If Beyond can close that gap before incumbents copy its product features, it has a real chance to build something meaningful.
Let’s go through what else is happening in Indian startup world - Grab your simmering cup of StartupChai.in and unwind with our hand-brewed memes.
“Sapne Dekhe Bade Bade”: Dronetech Startup AITMC Files UDRHP
AITMC Ventures has filed its UDRHP with SEBI for an IPO of up to 3.5 Cr fresh shares, with no OFS component.
The dronetech and skilling startup had earlier proposed a ₹200 Cr IPO.
Read more here
“Bhaari Mistake Ho Gayi”: OpenAI’s ‘Rogue’ AI Agents Hit Wikimedia
OpenAI’s AI agents have been flagged for unauthorized activity across Wikipedia and other Wikimedia projects.
The incident is fueling fresh concerns over AI autonomy, cybersecurity and oversight.
Read more here
“Humari Bhi Haan Hai”: Swara Baby Products Secures SEBI Nod
Swara Baby Products has received SEBI approval for its ₹1,000 Cr IPO, comprising ₹500 Cr each in fresh issue and OFS.
FirstCry parent Brainbees Solutions plans to sell up to ₹300 Cr worth of shares.
Read more here
“Yeh Market Mein Naya Hai”: Facebook Tests Reels-First
Meta is testing a Reels-first version of Facebook with selected users in India. Under the experiment, the app opens directly into a full-screen, vertically scrolling video interface.
The traditional chronological feed moves to a secondary tab, although participating users can opt out of the test.
Read more here
“Janmo Ke Saathi”: Hoola Health Acquires UpTodd
Peak XV Partners and W Health Ventures-backed Hoola Health has acquired child-development platform UpTodd for an undisclosed amount. UpTodd says it has served over 100,000 families, including more than 10,000 paying customers.
Hoola, formerly known as BabyMD, operates a network of more than 10 clinics in Bengaluru.
Read more here
“Modi Hai Toh Mumkin Hai”: Cabinet Clears ₹10,000 Cr SME Fund
The Cabinet has cleared a ₹10,000 Cr SME Growth Fund to provide growth capital to small and medium businesses.
The fund will help SMEs scale, adopt technology and expand globally.
Read more here
“Hum Bhi Technology Ka Use Karenge”: Karnataka Partners ElevenLabs
The Karnataka government has signed an MoU with ElevenLabs to develop a platform-agnostic voice AI safety framework.
It will cover deepfake detection, watermarking, consent, public-figure voice cloning and fraud prevention.
Beyond Appliances has raised ₹110 Cr in a Series B round led by Fireside Ventures, with participation from Dharana Capital.
Read more here
NDude Labs has led a $3 Mn Series A in US wellness brand SuperMush. The funding will support product expansion.
Read more here
Lorazzo has raised ₹15 Cr in a funding round led by Sauce. Sprout Venture Partners, Panthera Peak and Alteria Capital also participated.
Read more here
IndigoTex has raised ₹5 Cr in a funding round led by IAN Angel Fund. The IIT Delhi-originated startup will use the funds to scale manufacturing.
Read more here
CureMeAbroad has raised $1.1 Mn in a pre-seed round led by SteerX Ventures. Existing investor AIRA also participated.
Read more here
ReFit Global has raised $1 Mn in a seed round from a UAE-based family office. The Shark Tank India alumnus will use the funds to expand retail.
Read more here
StockGro has raised ₹110 Cr from existing backers in an extension of its Series B round. This comes ahead of parent AssetGro Fintech’s IPO.
Read more here
AI research startup FYDY is in talks to raise $12 Mn at a $50 Mn valuation, co-led by Lightspeed and General Catalyst.
Read more here
Regency Hospital secured ₹110 Cr in financing from BlackSoil. The Kanpur-headquartered hospital operator will use it for expansion and infrastructure across Kanpur, Lucknow and Gorakhpur.
Read more hereCurvetAI raised ₹6 Cr in a pre-seed round led by Merak Ventures to expand infrastructure, its team and agent capabilities.
Read more hereKinetic Age raised approximately $250,000 in a round led by AJVC and Agrasar Ventures.
Read more hereSober & Co raised ₹75 Lakh from investors representing New Ground Collective.
Read more hereSuperMush raised $3 Mn in a Series A round led by India- and US-based NDude Labs.
Read more hereASK Alternates collected ₹500 Cr at the first close of its second private-credit fund.
Read more here
