Bengaluru, India – 28 January 2025: Lightspeed led a $4.2 million seed investment round for Whizzo, a materials science manufacturing startup that is leading the way in engineered fashion and technological textiles. BEENEXT also participated. The investment will help Whizzo enhance materials science research and development, build a cutting-edge design lab for fashion-engineered textiles, and fortify its supply chain infrastructure in Bangladesh, Indonesia, China, Vietnam, and India.
Shrestha Kukreja, Founder, Whizzo
IRMA alumni and gold medalist Shrestha Kukreja, a former Zetwerk executive, founded Whizzo in 2024. With a full-stack strategy that blends innovation, sustainability, and cutting-edge materials science, Whizzo is revolutionizing textile manufacturing. Time-to-market is greatly shortened by the company’s patented textile blends, which include cellulosic and polymer-based fibers and are suited to a variety of industry demands.
Romit Mehta, VP-Investments, Lightspeed, while sharing his perspective on the transformative potential of Whizzo’s approach, said, “Technical textiles and man-made fibers represent the future of the textile market. India is poised to become a global epicenter of innovation in this sector, driven by strong government support and visionary entrepreneurs. Shrestha is a standout leader, demonstrating the ambition and expertise needed to build an ‘India to the world’ story in this space. We are thrilled to partner with Shrestha and the Whizzo team on this transformative journey, as they leverage advanced materials science and a full-stack manufacturing approach to position India at the forefront of technical textiles.”
Commenting on the funding, Saksham Pant, Principal, BEENEXT highlighted, “India’s textile industry is one of its oldest, and hence demands innovation to meet modern challenges like sustainability and efficiency. Whizzo is leading this transformation through advanced technology and eco-conscious practices. Backed by Shrestha’s vision and expertise, the company is set to position India as a leader in technical textiles within the next decade.”
India’s technical textiles market, which was estimated to be worth $45 billion in 2026, is expected to reach $123 billion by 2035, propelled by industries including defense, infrastructure, and healthcare. With its range of clothtech, mobiltech, packtech, and agrotech products, Whizzo is in a unique position to serve sectors including industrial manufacturing, automotive, and agricultural.
About Whizzo:
Whizzo is a Bengaluru-based materials science manufacturing company founded in 2024. It specializes in engineered and technical textiles, leveraging woven, non-woven, and composite technologies to deliver innovative solutions across industries like Medtech, Packtech, Indutech, and Clothtech. With a robust supply chain spanning India, China, Vietnam, Indonesia, and Bangladesh, Whizzo is committed to delivering groundbreaking textile solutions at speed and scale.
About Lightspeed:
Lightspeed is a global multi-stage venture capital firm focused on accelerating disruptive innovations and trends in the Enterprise, Consumer, Health, and Fintech sectors. Over the past two decades, the Lightspeed team has backed hundreds of entrepreneurs and helped build more than 500 companies globally including Affirm, Acceldata, Carta, Cato Networks, Darwinbox, Epic Games, Faire, Innovaccer, Guardant Health, Mulesoft, Navan, Netskope, Nutanix, Physics Wallah, Razorpay, Rubrik, Sharechat, Snap, OYO Rooms, Ultima Genomics, Zepto and more. Lightspeed and its global team currently manage $25B in AUM across the Lightspeed platform, with investment professionals and advisors in the U.S., Europe, India, Israel, and Southeast Asia.
About BEENEXT:
BEENEXT is a Venture Capital fund managed by serial entrepreneurs that focuses on assisting founders with their operational experience, network, trust, unique perspectives, and capital. The team invests in early-stage tech start-ups that are focused on building new digital platforms driven by the data network. BEENEXT is a platform of founders, by the founders, and for the founders across the globe, primarily in Southeast Asia, India, and Japan. Since its establishment in 2015, the team has invested in over 200 companies globally.
For more information, please visit www.beenext.com.
