New Delhi, Dec. 8 -- Cancer treatment hospital chain Specialty Surgical Oncology Hospital (SSO), direct-to-consumer (D2C) cosmetics brand Conscious Chemist, healthtech startup Lumov, fintech platform Frex, and Korean QSR brand Koriken announced fresh capital raises on Monday.

Specialty Surgical Oncology Hospital

Specialty Surgical Oncology Hospital has raised $2.8 million (Rs 25.2 crore) from Everhope Oncology, which is backed by Narayana Health, W Health Ventures and 2070 Health.

"This partnership marks a defining moment for our team," said founder Sanket Mehta. "It enables us to launch three new centres in Mumbai and invest in clinical talent, advanced infrastructure and robust systems."

Since 2021, SSO has grown to five centres and a team of 20 surgeons who perform over 20,000 complex oncology procedures.

"SSO's approach is thoughtful and reflects that founders don't just see themselves as clinicians but as institution builders," said Pankaj Jethwani of W Health Ventures. Narayana Health noted that designing affordable care for middle-income patients helps build resilient, scalable models.

Conscious Chemist

Conscious Chemist has raised Rs 15 crore ($1.6 million) in a bridge round led by Atomic Capital, which increased its stake after joining the company's cap table in its pre-Series A round last year. First Port Capital Fund B and IPV International also participated.

The company will deploy the capital toward hiring, inventory expansion, marketing, strengthening product innovation and R&D. The D2C skincare brand claims to have built a customer base of more than 2.5 million and to have turned profitable at the CM3 level.

Founded in 2021 by Robin Gupta and Prakher Mathur, the brand offers more than 30 products with ingredients such as salicylic acid, kojic acid, peptides, hyaluronic acid, ceramides and retinol. It sells across Amazon, Nykaa, Myntra, Flipkart and quick commerce platforms like Blinkit, Instamart and Zepto.

The company said it has delivered 3x revenue growth over the past year and aims to reach an ARR of Rs 500 crore over the next 24-36 months while maintaining healthy unit economics.

Sales through quick commerce channels have tripled, and the brand is now preparing to expand into the scalp and hair care segment.

Lumov

Bengaluru-based Lumov has raised $1.2 million in a seed round led by Incubate Fund Asia, with participation from QRG Investments & Holdings, IIMA Ventures, SIDBI, and several angel investors.

The company plans to use the capital to fuel product development, geographic expansion, and scale operations for its orthopaedic recovery and rehabilitation solutions.

Lumov co-founders Saumaric Dangwal and Ankit Gupta said, "We are building premium, high-quality orthotics, rehabilitation aids, and pain-management solutions designed to accelerate recovery and help people live pain-free, active lives."

The company designs advanced orthopaedic products and orthoses for post-surgical recovery, rehabilitation, and lifestyle-driven pain management. Developed with orthopedic specialists at hospitals including Manipal, Apollo, Sakra, and AIG, the products are made for India-specific anatomy and climate. The company plans to expand into Delhi-NCR, Hyderabad, and Mumbai, while scaling sales operations and manufacturing capabilities.

Frex

Fintech startup Frex has raised Rs 9.5 crore in a pre-seed round led by Zeropearl VC and White Venture Capital, with participation from angels such as Abhiraj Singh Bhal, Varun Khaitan and Raghav Chandra of Urban Company, Pradeep Parameswaran of Uber, Kunal Shah of CRED, and Rishabh Goel of Credgenics.

The Gurugram-based startup, which is building a peer-to-peer cross-border payments platform aimed at immigrants and global workers who deal with slow transfers, hidden fees and wide forex markups, plans to use the funds to expand on-and-off-ramp infrastructure across North America and India, strengthen compliance and corridor-level regulatory layers, and scale engineering systems for high-volume payments.

The company expects to touch $1 million in monthly transfers within the next two or three months as adoption rises among immigrant communities.

Koriken

Koriken, a Korean QSR brand in India, has raised Rs 4 crore in a seed round led by Rukam Capital.

The company said the investment will support product innovation, retail expansion, operational efficiency, brand marketing, and talent development. The funds will allow expansion of flagship and high street outlets, scaling kitchen systems for speed and quality, and growing the core team.

"We are on a mission to make Korean street food a mainstream dining choice in India. Our focus is on consistency, affordability, and innovation, while staying true to the essence of Korean food culture," said founder Hasan Patel.

Koriken offers signature dishes like Korean fried chicken, ramen and mandu. It says that it is combining authentic taste with a modern QSR approach. It plans to capitalize on the growing popularity of Korean cuisine across metros and tier-II cities, aiming to make it a household favourite in India.

"We see a tremendous opportunity to build a category-defining brand as India's young consumers increasingly embrace new flavours and global cuisines," said Archana Jahagirdar of Rukam Capital.

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