New Delhi, Nov. 12 -- New-age business school Tetr College, legal-tech startup Nyayanidhi, distribution platform Doco, specialty chain FES Cafe, haircare brand &Done, and artisanal-beverage maker Ochre Spirits, among others have raised early-stage capital.

Tetr College

Tetr College has raised $18 million (around Rs 159 crore) in a round co-led by Owl Ventures and Bertelsmann India Investments to expand its footprint with new campuses in the US, Europe, and Dubai.

The funding will also deepen its network across ten countries and accelerate new programmes in management and entrepreneurship, including the recently launched master's in management and technology.

Tetr will leverage the networks of Bertelsmann's global universities and Owl Ventures' portfolio, which includes leading edtech firms such as MasterClass, Degreed, and Labster.

Founded in 2024 by Pratham Mittal, Tetr offers a 'learn by doing' model where students launch ventures while studying at institutions such as IIT, NUS, and Cornell. The school's faculty includes professors from Harvard, Stanford, and MIT, alongside CXOs from NASA and Softbank India.

Nyayanidhi

Nyayanidhi, a Bengaluru-based legal technology startup, has raised $2 million (nearly Rs 18 crore) in seed funding led by 3one4 Capital, with participation from DeVC, PeerCheque, Force Ventures, and angel investors including Nishchay Ag, cofounder of Jar.

Founded in 2024 by Adithya LHS, Chakshu Masagali, and Pratik Pany, the company is building India's litigation operating system to digitise legal workflows. Its AI-driven platform automates drafting, translation, and filings, helping advocates and enterprises manage litigation faster and with greater transparency.

The company plans to use the funding to expand its advocate network, strengthen AI capabilities, and scale up operations across more states. With this round, Nyayanidhi aims to deepen government partnerships and push forward its vision of a transparent and performance-driven litigation ecosystem in India.

Doco

GVFL and Malpani Ventures have invested Rs 4.5 crore (around $51,000) in Doco, a rural distribution startup founded in 2023 by Jitendra Yadav and Nishant Agarwal. The round also saw participation from existing investor Kunwar Asheesh Saxena, former co-founder and CTO of RedDoorz, along with other angels.

The platform enables FMCG brands to expand into rural and semi-urban markets through a tech-driven network of dark stores and local delivery partners.

Doco currently operates ten dark stores and serves more than 5,000 retailers across western Uttar Pradesh, working with brands such as Bikano, Jabsons, Yellow Diamond, and Kingfisher.

The funding will be used to expand its dark store network, strengthen its technology platform, and enhance operational capacity. Over the next year, Doco plans to grow its footprint to 25 dark stores and reach over 25,000 retailers, with a long-term goal of becoming India's leading rural distribution platform connecting FMCG brands to millions of rural retailers.

FES Cafe

Eggless dessert-led cafe chain FES Cafe has raised about $1 million (around Rs 8.9 crore) in a Pre-Series A round led by 12 Flags, a global consumer fund founded by Rakesh Kapoor, former CEO of Reckitt Benckiser. Existing investor Wolfpack Labs also doubled its stake. The fresh capital will help the company expand across Delhi NCR, scale delivery operations through a central production kitchen, and strengthen its leadership team.

Founded by Vidur Mayor, the 100% eggless dessert cafe has grown into a popular name among Gen Z and millennials for its chunky cookies, seasonal drops, and cafe spaces that double as social hubs. Former Blue Tokai CFO Amit Nagpal has joined as strategic and financial advisor to support the brand's next phase of growth.

12 Flags said FES Cafe's focus on quality and execution positions it well for expansion, while Wolfpack Labs described it as a homegrown community cafe brand with strong economics and a loyal following. The company plans to deepen its NCR presence and extend into new dessert and beverage formats over the coming year.

&Done Premium haircare startup &Done has raised Rs 6.5 crore (around $730,000) in a pre-seed funding round led by early-stage venture capital firm All In Capital, with participation from MG Investments and several angel investors.

The capital will be used to expand the team, strengthen product innovation, and scale up its presence across India's premium salon network.

Founded by engineers-turned-entrepreneurs Saumya Yadav and Atit Jain, &Done is building a professional haircare brand designed specifically for Indian hair and climate conditions. The company has already partnered with over 1,500 stylists across 300 premium salons and offers a direct-to-consumer line for at-home care.

"We are on a mission to bring science-backed, professional haircare solutions made for Indian hair," said Saumya Yadav, cofounder of &Done. "Salons in India still rely on imported products that are not built for Indian conditions. It is time for Indian hair to have its own high-performance professional brand."

Ochre Spirits

Ochre Spirits, an emerging artisanal beverage startup from Goa, has raised an undisclosed seed round led by Ah! Ventures through its First Gear platform. The round also saw participation from Mukesh Singh (founder of RoboCapital; former president of IIFL Finance) and Probir Roy (MD of Alize Capital; independent director of Nazara Technologies; co-founder of PayMate), who joins as a strategic advisor.

The company plans to use the funds to expand operations across South and West India, strengthen production, and grow its portfolio in categories such as whisky, gin, and agave spirits. It plans to extend its product line while maintaining a focus on quality, design, and conscious celebration.

Founder John Royerr said the next phase of growth focuses on building a multi-category beverage ecosystem that balances aspiration with accessibility. "Our aim is to create world-class products that don't alienate the Indian consumer on pricing. Each label is crafted to meet evolving expectations while staying authentic," he said.

Founded in 2023, Ochre Spirits is now expanding into non-alcoholic categories such as functional waters and mixers as it works toward becoming a full-scale beverage company. Ochre is targeting Rs 100 crore in revenue within three years, with plans to develop a portfolio of homegrown labels that blend craft and culture with modern consumer preferences.

Nimble Vision

Water-treatment solution provider VA Tech Wabag has invested an undisclosed amount in Bengaluru-based Nimble Vision, a deeptech startup building IoT- and AI-driven water management solutions. The investment was its first under its Blue Seed initiative that aims to accelerate innovation and entrepreneurship in India's water sector by supporting early-stage companies developing technology for smarter, more sustainable water systems.

Nimble Vision develops automation systems and real-time analytics tools for water conservation, leakage detection, and quality monitoring. Through this investment, Wabag will help the company scale its IoT-based automation platforms, enhance predictive analytics for water treatment and distribution, and advance the development of indigenous smart sensors and controllers.

Devzery

San Francisco-based AI video infrastructure startup VideoDB has acquired Chennai-based Devzery, a developer tooling firm known for its AI-powered regression testing platform. The move brings Devzery's testing automation capabilities into VideoDB's growing video infrastructure stack, strengthening reliability and developer experience across use cases such as surveillance, model training, and real-time video editing.

Founded in 2021, Devzery built a codeless regression testing agent that integrates directly into CI/CD pipelines, removing the need for engineers to write or maintain test code. Its tools have been adopted by teams at Cimpress, Shopflo, and Zeda.io, with early backing of $125,000 from Upekkha.

With the acquisition, Devzery's founders join the VideoDB team to extend their automation framework into programmable video infrastructure. The integration aims to make VideoDB's platform more robust for developers building on live and stored video data, especially as the company pushes deeper into enterprise and AI-heavy applications.

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