Zyod is an Indian startup that provides a technology platform to global fashion brands, supporting the entire process from design to delivery. It has raised $18 million in a new funding round to expand its presence in more than 40 countries around the world.
The Gurugram-based startup works with Indian factories to help manufacture fashion apparel for global brands. The company offers enterprise resource planning (ERP) software, which it calls the “brain of manufacturing,” which tells factories what to produce, how to produce it, and when to produce it, allowing them to maximize their capabilities.
Zyod co-founder Ankit Jaipuria told TechCrunch that India's more than 80,000 small and medium-sized enterprises operate at less than 33% capacity. Through its ERP platform, the startup helps factories understand the components (e.g. fabrics) needed to produce a particular brand of clothing. It also explains the patterns in which the fabric should be cut and stitched to maximize its usability according to the requirements posed by the brand.
Additionally, the startup developed a daily production reporting system to provide the factory with a daily action plan. This helps overcome the challenges local factories and workers face in a typical environment where factory owners manage operations via paper and pen or WhatsApp.
“We are providing routine guidance previously provided by plant owners. That is, instructions on how to make it, when to make it, and what to make. All of this runs through Zyod. This is why I say Zyod acts as the brains of manufacturing and the factory acts as the execution arm,” Jaipuria said.
Co-founded by Jaipuria and Ritesh Khandelwal in early 2023, Zyod currently serves over 550 customers in over 18 countries and has added around 400 customers over the past two years. The startup initially helped D2C brands accelerate time to market and lower minimum order quantities. However, it started onboarding corporate customers in the October quarter and has since added major brands including 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-DOS in Spain.
Last January, Zyod launched its mobile app across iOS and Android platforms. We focus on long-tail customers who want to purchase a variety of styles on the go. The app also helps corporate customers confirm their orders. Zyod plans to further update the app with new methods of communication, including 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 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 grow its presence in the southern hemisphere and enter markets such as Brazil and Australia. We also plan to expand into several less developed countries, including Africa and the Scandinavian region of Europe.
“If we expand well in both hemispheres, we can have all-season products available in our factories operating in India,” Jaipuria said.
Zyod expanded its catalog from an initial 10 or 20 styles to 10,000 styles a month. Based on the data it collects, the startup provides brands with predictions about what clothing styles people might want to buy.
With the new funding, Zyod wants to strengthen those predictions and automate its platform so brands can feed in the style and images of the designs they want to produce to identify patterns. The startup also plans to integrate its software with existing sewing machines to reduce human error.
The Series A round also includes undisclosed debt, which Jaipuria said was specifically for working capital requirements.
“Zyod leverages technology to improve all aspects of the production process, from modular design approaches to factory-level operational optimization,” Nishit Garg, partner in RTP Global’s Asia investment team, said 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 has increased “multiple times” since the last round, without sharing specific numbers. The startup also generates “several million dollars” in annual revenue, the co-founder said.
“We are excited to double down on 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.”
