[Funding alert] DrinkPrime raises Rs 21 Cr from Sequoia Surge, Omidyar Network India

Water purifier startup DrinkPrime on Tuesday announced that it had raised Rs 21 crore ($3 million) in its pre-Series A round. The round was led by Sequoia Capital's scale-up programme Surge, with participation from social imapact-focused investment firm Omidyar Network India.

The Bengaluru-based startup will use the freshly raised funds to strengthen its team and invest in growth plans.

Badri Pillapakkam, Investment Partner at Omidyar Network India, said:

"Clean drinking water is a basic right and yet an unsolved problem for millions of Indian households. We believe that DrinkPrime's innovative direct-to-consumer business model, which makes quality drinking water more affordable, will help improve the lives of India’s next half billion...those belonging to the lower 60 percent of India’s economic distribution. We are delighted to partner with them in their quest for creating meaningful and healthy lives.” 

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DrinkPrime was founded in 2015 by  Vijender Reddy Muthyala and Manas Ranjan Hota. The startup has created smart water purifiers by leveraging Internet of Things (IoT) technology and a seven-stage filtration process. It allows users to subscribe to use the company's advanced modular water purifiers, with a pay-as-you-use model.

CEO and Co-founder Vijender said, "We are looking to expand to multiple geographies this year. Now, with a much more robust product, our customers' love for DrinkPrime is pushing us to grow rapidly. We aim to reach a million households in the next couple of years and be true to our vision.” 

Currently operational only in Bengaluru, DrinkPrime is planning to expand to the top 10 Indian cities, and further expand its product portfolio.

In April this year, DrinkPrime raised an undisclosed amount in its seed round. Angel investors Bharat Jaisinghani, Abhishek Goyal of Tracxn, and FirstCheque had participated in the round. Other prominent investors also participated, including Ankit Agarwal, Director of Innoven Capital; Harpreet Singh Grover, Co-founder of Cocubes; and Sanjay Sunku, Founder and CEO of Versatiletech, among others. 

DrinkPrime is also backed by founders of Snapdeal, Kunal Bahl and Rohit Bansal, GrowthStory's founders Meena and Krishnan Ganesh, and Bounce, among others.

(Edited by Teja Lele Desai)