Zod is an Indian startup that offers its technology platform to global fashion brands to help them with the entire process from design to delivery. It has raised $18 million in a new funding round to expand its presence to more than 40 countries around the world.

This Gurugram-based startup works with factories in India to help them produce fashion clothing for global brands. The company offers enterprise resource planning (ERP) software, called the “brains of manufacturing,” that tells factories what should be produced, how to produce it, and when it should be done, so the factory can use maximum necessary resources. his capacity.

More than 80,000 small and medium-sized factories in India have capacity utilization below 33%, Ankit Jaipuria, co-founder of Zyod, told TechCrunch. Through its ERP platform, the startup helps factories understand which components – like fabric – they should use to produce clothing for a particular brand. It also explains the pattern of cutting and stitching the fabric according to the needs proposed by the brand to achieve maximum usage.

In addition, the startup has developed a daily production reporting system to provide factories with daily action plans. This addresses the challenges local factories and their workers face in an environment where factory owners manage their operations via pen and paper or via WhatsApp.

“We provide daily instructions, which were previously given by the factory owner, namely: how to make it, when to make it, what to make – all this is done through Zyod, and that is why I say Zyod acts as the brains of manufacturing, and the factory acts as the arms manufacturer,” Jaipuria said.

Co-founded in early 2023 by Jaipuria and Ritesh Khandelwal, Zyod currently serves over 550 clients in over 18 countries, adding approximately 400 clients over the past two years. The startup initially helped D2C brands with faster launch times and low minimum order quantities. However, during the October quarter, the company began onboarding enterprise clients and has since added major brands including Reliance Industries and Aditya Birla in India. The company's early clients also include City Analysis of Japan, Anthropologie of Pennsylvania, NEXT and Boohoo of the United Kingdom and VAN-DOS of Spain.

In January, Zyod launched its mobile application on iOS and Android platforms. It focuses on long-term customers who want to purchase different styles on the go. The app also helps the company's customers view their orders. Zyod also plans to update its app with new communication methods, including approving orders and communicating with the team via a live chat window.

The $18 million investment constitutes Zyod's Series A round led by RTP World and includes participation from existing investors Lightspeed and Alteria Capital as well as new investors Stride Ventures, Stride One and Trifecta Capital. The funding will help the startup expand its presence in the southern hemisphere and enter markets such as Brazil and Australia. This effort is also expected to reach several underutilized countries, including Africa and the Scandinavian region of Europe.

“Once we have good expansion in both hemispheres, we will be able to have consistent all-season products for our factories operating in India,” Jaipuria said.

Zyod has expanded its catalog to 10,000 styles per month compared to 10 or 20 initially. The startup offers brands predictions about what clothing styles people might want to buy, based on the data it collects.

With new funding, Zyod wants to improve this prediction and automate the platform so brands can know the style and design images they want to produce to bring their designs to life. The startup also plans to integrate its software with traditional sewing machines to reduce human errors.

The Series A round also includes undisclosed debt, which Jaipuria says is for working capital needs.

“Zyod leverages technology to improve every aspect of the production process, from a modular design approach to optimizing operations at the factory level,” said Nishit Garg, partner in the investment team at RTP World Asia, in a prepared 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 had increased “multiple times” since the last round without providing of exact figure. The startup also generates “millions and millions of dollars” in annual revenue, one of the founders said.

“We are delighted to double down on our partnership with Zyod,” said Rahul Taneja, Partner at Lightspeed India. “Their global network is growing rapidly and we are excited about the next phase of growth. »