Material science deep-tech startup Chakr Innovation has raised USD 23 million (≈ ₹193.5 crore) in a Series C round, led by growth-stage investor Iron Pillar. Existing investors SBI Cap Ventures, ONGC, Indian Angel Network (IAN) and Inflexor also participated.
What the Funding Will Be Used For
Chakr Innovation plans to deploy the fresh capital to:
- Expand manufacturing capacity across its facilities.
- Accelerate international growth, taking its portfolio of clean-tech products and technologies overseas.
- Strengthen backward integration, reducing dependency on external inputs and raw materials.
- Boost R&D efforts in clean-tech, particularly in energy storage alternatives and materials science.
What Chakr Does & Why It Matters
Founded in 2016 by IIT Delhi graduates, Chakr Innovation develops technologies focused on reducing pollution and enabling cleaner energy and materials. Some of its core products include:
- Chakr Shield, a certified retrofit emission control device (RECD) for diesel generators that cuts particulate emissions by over 80%.
- IoT-enabled remote monitoring for diesel generators.
- Clean-tech innovations such as metal-air battery technologies and aluminium-air alternatives using wholly indigenous raw materials.
Chakr already has over 5,000 installations, more than 2,000 customers, and claims that its technologies have helped reduce over 2.5 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalent emissions in India.
Strategic Perspective & Vision
Kushagra Srivastava, Founder & CEO of Chakr Innovation, emphasized that this funding is a major inflection point for building “world-class material science technologies from India”, pointing to plans for setting up a dedicated materials-science centre.
Ashok Ananthakrishnan of Iron Pillar added that what stood out was Chakr’s mission-driven culture, and fast commercialisation of R&D — especially attractive given India’s urgent pollution and energy storage challenges.
Final Take
With this Series C round, Chakr Innovation is poised to deepen its play in the clean-tech & materials science space—moving from early adopters to global competitors. The combination of emission solutions, indigenous energy storage tech, and fast scaling could make Chakr a key contributor to India’s roadmap for climate action, energy security, and sustainable industrial growth.
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