Former PharmEasy Leaders' Chapter Home Raises ₹63 Crore From Bessemer at a Valuation Near ₹1,000 Crore

A team of former PharmEasy executives who helped build one of India's best-known health tech companies is now betting on a very different market: the products that fill Indian homes and kitchens.

Chapter Home, a consumer brands company founded in 2025, has raised ₹63 crore in a mix of equity and debt from Bessemer Venture Partners, Stride Ventures, comedian and investor Tanmay Bhat and a group of family offices, Entrackr reported on Thursday, October 22. The round values the company at close to ₹1,000 crore, a striking figure for a business barely a year old.

The startup said it would use the money to strengthen product development, enter new categories, invest in technology and brand building, expand distribution and set up its first physical retail touchpoints.

The founding team

Chapter Home was founded by Nitin Chugh, Akarsh Bharadwaj, Shrey Mittal, Dhiraj Jain and Dheeraj Goyal, all of whom were part of the founding and leadership team at PharmEasy, the online pharmacy and diagnostics platform.

PharmEasy was once one of India's most valuable startups, but it faced a difficult period after its planned IPO was shelved in 2022, followed by a sharp drop in valuation and a rescue rights issue. The experience of building and scaling a large consumer business, and navigating its challenges, appears to have given investors confidence in the team's operational capabilities.

Bessemer Venture Partners, one of the oldest venture capital firms in the United States, has a long history of investing in Indian consumer and technology businesses. Stride Ventures is a venture debt provider that lends to startups alongside equity rounds.

A house of home brands

Chapter Home is building a portfolio of brands across bed and table linen, cookware, home décor and small kitchen appliances. Its first category is home furnishings, sold through HOKIPO, an online home furnishing brand.

The company operates a shared platform that handles sourcing, supply chain, content, technology and distribution across its brands. This "house of brands" approach is designed to reduce costs and accelerate the launch of new brands, since each brand can draw on common infrastructure rather than building its own.

Artificial intelligence plays a central role in its operating model. Chapter Home uses AI for product cataloguing, content creation, demand forecasting, product assortment, customer targeting and retention. In consumer brands, where margins depend heavily on getting inventory and marketing right, these capabilities can make a significant difference to profitability.

Selling everywhere

The company plans to sell through online marketplaces, quick commerce platforms, its own direct-to-consumer channel and offline stores. The inclusion of quick commerce reflects a major shift in how Indians buy household goods. Platforms such as Blinkit, Zepto and Swiggy Instamart have expanded well beyond groceries into categories such as kitchenware, home décor and small appliances, offering delivery within minutes.

Physical retail is the next step. Many digital-first brands in India have found that offline stores help build trust and reach customers who prefer to see and touch products before buying, particularly for items such as bedding, cookware and furniture.

A large and fragmented market

India's home and kitchen market is large and growing, driven by rising incomes, urbanisation, new household formation and aspirations for better-designed homes. Yet it remains highly fragmented, with a large share of sales going to unbranded products and small local manufacturers.

That fragmentation creates opportunities for brands that can offer consistent quality, appealing design and reliable service at competitive prices. Several venture-backed companies have tried to build home brands in India, with varied success, while established players such as Prestige, Hawkins, Bombay Dyeing and Spaces compete alongside global brands like IKEA.

Why investors are paying up

A valuation of close to ₹1,000 crore for a company founded in 2025 reflects several factors. Investors are betting on the founding team's track record, the size of the market and the potential of an AI-enabled, multi-brand model to scale quickly and efficiently.

However, building consumer brands is notoriously difficult. Customer acquisition costs can be high, competition is intense, and maintaining quality across a growing range of products requires strong supply chain management. Investors in Indian direct-to-consumer brands have become more selective since 2022, favouring companies that can show profitable growth.

The wider D2C landscape

Chapter Home's raise comes amid continued activity in India's consumer brands sector. Several D2C companies have raised capital in recent weeks, and global groups have shown interest in acquiring Indian brands, as L'Oréal's planned takeover of Innovist demonstrated. Successful exits through acquisitions and IPOs have encouraged investors to keep backing new consumer businesses.

Lessons from India's D2C boom

India's direct-to-consumer sector grew rapidly between 2019 and 2022, as digital adoption accelerated during the pandemic and venture capital flowed freely. Brands in beauty, personal care, apparel, food and home categories raised large rounds, and several were acquired by larger groups. Mamaearth parent Honasa Consumer and others went public.

The subsequent slowdown in funding forced many brands to cut marketing spend, focus on profitability and expand offline. Those that survived learned that heavy dependence on paid digital advertising made customer acquisition expensive, and that building a sustainable brand requires repeat purchases, strong margins and multiple sales channels.

Chapter Home's strategy appears designed around these lessons. Its shared platform, use of AI to reduce costs and early push into quick commerce and physical retail reflect a more disciplined approach than many brands took during the boom years. Whether that discipline can coexist with the rapid growth its valuation implies will be the key test.

What comes next

Chapter Home will now focus on expanding its brand portfolio beyond home furnishings into cookware, décor and kitchen appliances, while building its omnichannel distribution. The opening of its first physical stores will be an important milestone.

For the founding team, the venture is a chance to apply the lessons of PharmEasy to a new market. Its success will depend on whether it can turn a promising start and a high valuation into a durable, profitable consumer business. Investors will also be watching how quickly the company can reach profitability, a question that has become central for consumer startups in India. The founders' experience of scaling PharmEasy, and of navigating its later difficulties, may prove valuable as they balance growth with financial discipline.