India, Jan. 22 -- Ashish Goel, cofounder and former CEO of Urban Ladder, has started a new venture in the cooling space. His manufacturing startup, Optimist, has raised $12 Mn in its seed and pre-Series A funding round led by Accel and Arkam Ventures, with participation from angel investors.

Founded in 2024 by Goel, along with Pranav Chopra, Optimist is building air conditioners (ACs) designed specifically for Indian conditions, where rising temperatures, high humidity, and expensive electricity make cooling critical and costly.

The startup plans to use the fresh capital to scale manufacturing, deepen research and development, and prepare for a market launch.

Goel said the idea for Optimist came from a simple question: how prepared is ...