Distil raises $7.7 million in Series A funding to strengthen specialty chemicals platform

The company expects to reach $25-30 million in topline revenue and breakeven in the next 12 months

Distil, a R&D led specialty chemicals powerhouse from India, has raised $7.7 million in Series A funding. The round was led by Singapore’s Jungle Ventures and UAE’s CE-Ventures, corporate VC platform of Crescent Enterprises, with participation from strategic investors Rubamin, PI Industries Vice Chairperson Mayank Singhal, and India Quotient. This brings Distil’s total funding to date to $10.8 million.

The financing brings on board investors with deep experience across chemicals and manufacturing, supporting Distil as it expands R&D and scales international operations. The strategic investors include Rubamin, a Gujarat-based chemicals leader and one of India’s largest players in strategic metals refining, battery recycling, and specialty chemicals. In addition, Mayank Singhal, Vice Chairperson & Managing Director of PI Industries - one of the world’s leading agrochemicals CDMOs - has also backed Distil.

Distil was founded to tackle inefficiencies in the chemicals value chain. India has thousands of small and mid-sized plants running at partial capacity with limited in-house R&D or technical sales. Distil partners with these manufacturers, adds research and application expertise, and supplies chemicals that can compete with global leaders on quality while remaining cost competitive. Its portfolio includes wetting agents, binders, titanium dioxide and emulsions used in paints, plastics, and construction materials.

“Distil was founded to build a global institution in specialty chemicals from India,” said Atanu Agarrwal, Co-founder & CEO at Distil. “Our vision is to harness India’s world-class manufacturing capabilities, technical talent, and rising global importance to compete head-to-head with the world’s leading chemical majors.”

“When we first partnered with Distil at seed through First Cheque@Jungle, we saw a team well-positioned to ride one of the biggest supply chain shifts of our time.,” said Rishab Malik, Partner, Seed investments at Jungle Ventures. “In just over a year, they’ve built the R&D depth and market credibility to stand out in segments like paints & coatings and flavours & fragrances, and are already expanding into international markets such as the US and Middle East.”

The company expects to reach $25-30 million in topline revenue and breakeven in the next 12 months while laying the foundation for longer-term growth. Over the next five years it plans to acquire underutilised plants, scale their output up to five times, and further broaden its product range. The new funds will also support R&D expansion, global procurement, and technical sales, while helping Distil establish operations in the Middle East, Africa, and North America.

“CE-Ventures sees significant opportunity in India’s specialty chemicals sector, supported by strong sectoral tailwinds, India’s cost competitiveness, and favourable government initiatives. From our very first meeting, we were impressed by Atanu and Viraj’s clarity of vision and the pace of their execution. Their R&D-led, asset-light model can position the company as a new benchmark for how Indian innovators can compete globally, and we are excited to support Distil in building an internationally competitive platform,” said Sudarshan Pareek, Senior Vice President at CE-Ventures.

Viraj Shah, Co-founder & COO at Distil, added: “This round brings us investors who understand chemicals deeply and share our belief in an R&D-led, asset-light model. Their partnership strengthens our ability to scale faster, innovate continuously, and move closer to our ambition of becoming a trusted global partner by 2030.”