Covvalent, a startup that operates in the B2B speciality chemicals space, has raised $4.3 million in a seed funding round led by Nexus Venture Partners, according to the ETtech report.
The startup, founded this year by IIT Kharagpur alumni Sandeep Singh and Arush Dhawan, operates as a tech-enabled managed marketplace for speciality chemicals such as pigments, resins, additives, binders and polymers, a statement said.
In addition to Nexus Venture Partners, several angel investors participated in the round, including Zetwerk co-founder Vishal Chaudhary, Livspace founder Ramakant Sharma, BlackBuck founder Rajesh Yabaji, biopharma company MSD’s India Region managing director Rehan Khan, Rupifi co-founders Jawaid Iqbal, Anubhav and Ankit Singh, and Ahmedabad-based chemicals company Meghmani Group’s Kaushal Soparkar.
“Speciality Chemicals as a sector is undergoing a revolution driven by leaps in globalisation, technology, and logistics. But more opportunity has also created complexity, making it difficult for procurement teams to find quality suppliers. In addition, a fragmented supplier base and a lack of supply chain transparency make it even more challenging,” said Covvalent co-founder Sandeep Singh.
In a statement, the company said it plans to use the freshly raised funds to strengthen its technology infrastructure and for recruitment across the international business development, technology, and product development verticals.
It also pointed out that the global speciality chemicals market has a size of $800 billion, and is growing at around 6% annually. New products, trade wars and COVID challenges have necessitated developing supply chain resilience and alternative sources of procurement, it added.
“The global supply chain for speciality chemicals is ripe for disruption — new production centres and more efficient supply chains will emerge, enabled by technology,” said Anand Datta, Principal at Nexus Venture Partners. “In Sandeep and Arush, we see a unique mix of a tech-first approach supported by operational and domain expertise to exploit these opportunities uniquely”.
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