Speciality chemicals startup Distil bags $7.7M in Series A funding

Speciality chemicals company Distil has raised $7.7 million in Series A funding as it plans to expand research and development, strengthen procurement and technical sales, and establish operations in the United States, the Middle East and Africa.

The funding round was led by Singapore’s Jungle Ventures and UAE-based CE-Ventures, the venture arm of Crescent Enterprises. The round also saw participation from investors with expertise in chemicals and manufacturing, including Rubamin, a Gujarat-based company active in metals refining, battery recycling and speciality chemicals, and Mayank Singhal, Vice Chairperson and Managing Director of PI Industries, an agrochemicals company.

Founded in 2021 by Atanu Agarrwal and Viraj Shah, Distil develops speciality chemicals for paints and coatings, plastics, and construction materials, using an R&D-led, asset-light model.

The startup has raised a total of $10.8 million to date. The latest round comes just over a year after its $3.1 million seed round led by Jungle Ventures through First Cheque@Jungle.

“When we first partnered with Distil… we saw a team well-positioned to ride one of the biggest supply chain shifts of our time,” said Rishab Malik, Partner, Seed investments at Jungle Ventures. “In just over a year, they have built the R&D depth and market credibility to stand out in segments like paints and coatings and flavours and fragrances, and are already expanding into international markets such as the US and Middle East.”

Distil has grown to $7 million in annual sales, serving more than 100 enterprise customers and building a team of 19 scientists and engineers. The company expects to reach $25 million to $30 million in revenue and achieve break-even within 12 months. It plans to acquire underutilised plants over the next five years.

The global speciality chemicals industry is valued at over $800 billion and is growing at more than 6% annually. India is expanding faster than the global average, with exports increasing at over 18% as production shifts from China. Distil aims to benefit from this trend.