What They Build
Distil develops specialty chemicals including wetting agents, binders, titanium dioxide, and emulsions for paints and coatings, plastics, construction materials, pharmaceuticals, adhesives, and aroma applications.
Why They Matter
Specialty chemicals need an R&D and formulation layer between commodity production and multinational product portfolios. Distil matters because it pairs an asset-light model with technical formulation work and India's underused chemical manufacturing base. The test is whether the model can meet enterprise supply-security and qualification demands as it scales.
Founders
Atanu Agarrwal, Viraj Shah, Karan Hirani
Recent Milestones
- Founded in 2021 by IIT Bombay alumni Atanu Agarrwal, Viraj Shah, and Karan Hirani
- $3.1M seed round closed in 2024, co-led by Jungle Ventures and IndiaQuotient
- $7.7M Series A closed in September 2025, co-led by Jungle Ventures and CE-Ventures
- Total funding reached $10.8M
- Annual sales of about $7M disclosed across 100-plus enterprise clients
- Global expansion into the Middle East, Africa, and North America underway
- Revenue target of $25-30M and break-even projection disclosed after the Series A