India, April 16 -- D2C lab-grown diamond jewellery brand Jewelbox has raised $3.2 Mn (about INR 27 Cr) in its pre-Series A round led by V3 ventures.

The round also saw participation from Atrium Angels, Dexter Ventures, Infinyte Club, Samarthya Capital, among others. Existing backer Jito Incubation and Innovation Foundation (JIIF) also participated in the funding round.

Jewelbox cofounder Vidita Kochar Jain told Inc42 that the fresh capital will be utilised to increase the number of retail stores via co-owned and franchise-owned model. The startup plans to expand its retail network to 30 stores by the end of this year from eight currently.

Jewelbox plans to target tier-I & II cities such as Ludhiana, Chandigarh and Bhubaneshwar to shore...