New Delhi, May 23 -- Climate tech startup Alt Carbon, space tech firm PierSight, community platform Shuru App, and cross-border investing company Borderless have secured funding in separate rounds, the companies said.

Alt Carbon

Climate tech startup Alt Carbon has secured $12 million (Rs 102 crore) in a seed funding round led by Lachy Groom, with participation from existing investors. The funds will support the company's hardware innovation and scaling up of operations in India.

The Kolkata-based startup, founded by Shrey Agarwal and Sparsh Agarwal, uses a carbon removal technique called Enhanced Rock Weathering (ERW). This involves sourcing waste basalt rock dust from mines and spreading it across agricultural fields, where it reacts with rainwater to form bicarbonates that travel through river networks to the ocean. The company also operates the Darjeeling Revival Project (DRP), focused on ecological and cultural restoration, restoring livelihoods, and rebuilding ecosystems.

Its investors include Shastra VC, Jason Zhao (co-founder, PIP Labs), Awais Ahmed (co-founder, Pixxel Space), Amarendra Singh (co-founder, DeHaat), among others.

PierSight

Space tech startup PierSight has secured additional capital in an extended seed round, bringing the total raised capital to $8 million. The funds were raised from the Sustainable Ocean Alliance (SOA) and its venture arm, Seabird Ventures, along with CE-Ventures, the corporate venture capital platform of Crescent Enterprises.

The round also saw participation from technology operators Nandan Reddy (co-founder, Swiggy), Natasha Malpani Oswal (investor, Boundless), and Sahil Lavingia (founder, Gumroad).

"This round was about welcoming partners who bring frontline experience in ocean sustainability and port operations, and can help us build a world-class team," said Gaurav Seth, co-founder and CEO of PierSight.

Founded by space scientist Gaurav Seth and engineer Vinit Bansal, PierSight is building a constellation of satellites to provide persistent, 30-minute revisit coverage of global maritime activity--day or night, in all weather conditions. The company collaborates with coast guards, insurers, shipping lines, port operators, and ocean conservation NGOs to monitor Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs), detecting illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing, tracking oil spills, dark vessels, and marine insurance fraud.

Shuru App

Shuru App has raised Rs 29 crore in a Series A funding round led by Krafton, with participation from Omidyar Network India and Eximius Ventures.

Founded in Indore by Mayank Bhangadia (former CEO of Roposo) and Harsh Chhabra, the startup provides a platform for users to share community updates, post listings, raise civic issues and stay connected to their neighborhoods. The app has over 2 million users in over 6.5 lakh locations.

The funds will be used to launch a trends engine designed to deliver real-time, location-based insights from community conversations.

Borderless

Formerly known as Stockal, Borderless has raised Rs 20 crore in a bridge funding round as it launches multi-currency banking and payments products. The round saw participation from new and existing investors, and was led by an investor syndicate from Equirus Credence Family Office and included July Ventures, among others. The company is in talks for a Series B fundraise of Rs 120 crore. Based in Bengaluru, Borderless was founded by Sitashwa Srivastava. It operates a platform-formerly under the Stockal brand--to help affluent individuals in emerging markets save on costs related to travel, education and healthcare through cross-border investments. To date, the company has received Rs 100 crore in funding and counts July Ventures, AROA Ventures, HDFC, Hashed Ventures and others as its investors.

Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from VC Circle.