Zyod, an Indian startup that provides a technology platform to global fashion brands to help them with the entire design-to-delivery process, has raised $18 million in a new funding round to expand its operations to more than 40 countries worldwide.
The Gurugram-based startup partners with Indian factories to help make fashion wear for global brands. It provides what it calls the “brain of manufacturing,” enterprise resource planning (ERP) software that tells factories what, how and when to make products so they can utilise their full capacity.
Zyod co-founder Ankit Jaipuria told TechCrunch that over 80,000 small and medium-sized factories in India have a capacity utilization rate of less than 33%. Through its ERP platform, the startup helps factories understand what components, like fabric, they need to use to produce clothes for a particular brand. It also outlines the patterns for cutting and sewing the fabric based on the requirements given by the brand to maximize capacity utilization.
Additionally, the startup has developed a daily production reporting system to provide factories with a daily action plan, overcoming the challenges faced by local factories and their workers in a typical environment where factory owners manage operations with pen and paper or via WhatsApp.
“We are giving day-to-day instructions which were given earlier by factory owners — how to make, when to make, what to make — all this is done through Zyod. So, I say Zyod acts as the brain of manufacturing and the factories act as the execution force,” Jaipuria said.
Co-founded by Jaipuria and Ritesh Khandelwal in early 2023, Zyod currently serves over 550 customers across 18+ countries and has added around 400 customers in the past two years. The startup initially helped D2C brands with faster ramp-up and lower minimum order quantities. But it started onboarding enterprise customers in the October quarter and has since added big brands such as Reliance Industries and Aditya Birla in India. Early customers also include Urban Research in Japan, Anthropologie in Pennsylvania, Next and Boohoo in the UK, and Van Doss in Spain.
In January, Zyod launched its mobile app on iOS and Android platforms. The app focuses on long-tail customers who want to shop different styles on the go. The app also helps enterprise clients review their orders. Zyod plans to further update the app by adding new ways to communicate, such as approving orders and communicating with the team through a live chat window.
The $18 million investment is Zyod’s Series A round led by RTP Global with participation from existing investors Lightspeed and Alteria Capital, and new investors Stride Ventures, Stride One and Trifecta Capital. The funding will help the startup expand its presence in the Southern Hemisphere and expand into markets such as Brazil and Australia. It also aims to expand into less-explored countries in Africa and the Scandinavian region of Europe.
“Once we have a sufficient footprint in both hemispheres, we will be able to offer a consistent all-season product range from our operational factories in India,” Jaipuria said.
Zyod has expanded its catalog from an initial 10 to 20 items per month to 10,000. Based on the data it collects, the startup gives brands predictions about clothing styles people might want to buy.
With the new funding, Zyod hopes to strengthen these predictive capabilities and also automate its platform to allow brands to input the style and image of the design they want to produce and have it create patterns. The startup also plans to integrate its software with traditional sewing machines to reduce human error.
The Series A round also includes undisclosed debt, which Jaipuria said was specifically geared towards working capital needs.
“Zyod is leveraging technology to improve every aspect of the production process, from its modular design approach to optimizing operations at the factory level,” Nishit Garg, partner in RTP Global’s Asia investment team, said in a statement.
Zyod’s new funding comes after it raised $3.5 million in a seed round in April 2023. Jaipuria told TechCrunch that the startup’s valuation has grown “multiple fold” since its last round, but declined to share specific figures. The co-founder said the startup has “millions of dollars” in annual revenue.
“We are pleased to strengthen our partnership with Zyod,” said Rahul Taneja, Partner at Lightspeed India. “Their global network is expanding rapidly and we are excited about this next phase of growth.”
