Distil, a specialty chemical startup, has raised $7.7 million in its Series A funding round led by Singapore’s Jungle Ventures and the UAE’s CE-Ventures, the corporate venture capital platform of Crescent Enterprises. The round also saw 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. This funding comes just over a year after the startup’s $3.1 million in seed round led by Jungle Ventures through First Cheque@Jungle, the fund’s bespoke platform for partnering second-time founders and seasoned operators.
The fresh funds raised will be used to support its R&D expansion, global procurement, technical sales and establish operations in the Middle East, Africa, and North America.
Founded in 2023 by Atanu Agarrwal and Viraj Shah, Distil is an R&D-led specialty chemicals platform. Distil offers fully customizable, scalable solutions, dependable quality, tech-enabled, convenient purchasing with on-time delivery, and extensive after-sales support for manufacturers worldwide.
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.
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 its output up to five times, and further broaden its product range.
Atanu Agarrwal, Co-founder & CEO at Distil, said, “Distil was founded to build a global institution in specialty chemicals from India. 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.”
Viraj Shah, Co-founder & COO at Distil, said, “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.”
Sudarshan Pareek, Senior Vice President at CE-Ventures, said, “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.”
Rishab Malik, Partner, Seed Investments at Jungle Ventures, said, “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. 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.”
