Kult raises $20 Mn in Series A round led by M3M Family Office

Beauty tech and discovery platform Kult has raised $20 million (over Rs 170 crore) in a Series A funding round led by Dr. Payal Kanodia and Aishwarya Bansal from the M3M Family Office, with participation from Venture Catalysts.

The proceeds will be used to expand product offerings, grow the team, and scale operations.

Founded by Karishma Singh and Ruchika Pallavi, Kult offers personalized skincare recommendations using AI and showcases products on diverse Indian skin tones. According to the company, its platform is backed by insights from over 300 global beauty experts.

Kanodia and Bansal will also join Kult’s board as part of the investment.

Kult plans to onboard 700 premium beauty products and process over 10,000 orders per day by the end of 2025. The firm will also hire more than 200 employees across sourcing, engineering, product, and user experience functions.

The investment comes at a time when India’s beauty and personal care (BPC) market is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10%, reaching $30 billion by 2027. Within this, the online BPC segment is expected to account for $10 billion, representing approximately 33% of the total market.

Kult faces competition from established players like Nykaa, which also offers product recommendations, beauty content, and virtual try-ons via AR. Other competitors include the Good Glamm Group, known for its content-to-commerce approach in the beauty segment, and Smytten, which focuses on product discovery through trial packs and has recently expanded into offline retail.

Kult’s $20 million funding is also one of the largest Series A rounds for a startup in the current calendar year. According to data intelligence platform TheKredible, SaaS startups Atomicwork and Lucidity raised $25 million and $21 million respectively in their Series A rounds. Medical device manufacturer Harsoria also secured $20 million in its Series A round.