The startup picture in Lucknow

Everything startup in one place: who's building, how the landscape clusters, the people and investors behind it, and whether the capital is real.

Sahara India

Providing Scholarships to low income group Girls

est. 1978 · 5,243 staff · raised outside money

Rajashree Dutta — CEO

Sonata Finance

Microfinance in underdeveloped Indian Regions for Women Entrepreneurs

est. 2006 · 3,793 staff · raised outside money

Sivarami Reddy — Co-Founder

Rajashekar Reddy — Database Administrator

Slmg Beverages

Supplier of sparkling water, soda, juices, and other beverage products

est. 2019 · 2,063 staff · raised outside money

Costin Mandrea — Chief Executive Officer

India Pesticides

Agro-chemicals and active pharma ingredients manufacturer with global reach.

est. 1984 · 750 staff · raised outside money

Anand Swarup Agarwal — Founder & CEO

Chandan Hospital

24-hour fully-equipped multi-specialty hospital for emergency and trauma

est. 2018 · 625 staff · raised outside money

Asmita Singh — Managing Director · BBA University of Lucknow

Raj Gopal — Chief Executive Officer

Shri Ramswaroop Memorial University

Traditional educational institution with various degree options.

est. 2012 · 375 staff · raised outside money

Pooja Agarwal — Co-Founder

Pankaj Agarwal — Co-Founder

Mahesh Namkeen

38-year-old Indian snack and sweet company with a commitment to quality and community

est. 1983 · 295 staff · raised outside money

Harvey Spector — Founder & CEO

AMA Herbal

Manufacturer & supplier of textile dyes

est. 1996 · 131 staff · raised outside money

Masood Zaidi — Co-Founder and Chairman

Yawer Shah — Co-Founder & CEO

Margdarshak Fi ncial Services

Micro Loans in North India

est. 2007 · 98 staff · raised outside money

Rahul Mittra — Co-Founder & CEO

Pratyancha Financial Services

Online lending platform offering business loans

est. 1993 · 85 staff · raised outside money

Avneesh Jaiswal — CEO

Kashi Capital

Customer-centric finance for MSMEs in Hindi heartland with technology integration

est. 2016 · 80 staff · raised outside money

Rohit Kumar Singh — Founder

Mahendras

Mahendra's - Tech-Enabled Exam Prep Institute for Govt Sector Selection

est. 1995 · 67 staff · raised outside money

Shikha Jain — CEO

UnORG

App-based marketplace platform offering multi-category grocery products

est. 2022 · 59 staff · raised outside money

Suraj Kumar Verma — Co-Founder | COO

Varun Rathi — Co-Founder · Bachelor of Technology IIT Kanpur

RightWalk Foundation

Driving Equity, Inclusion, and Social Justice through Education and Livelihood

est. 2017 · 36 staff · raised outside money

Samina Bano — Founder & CEO

Financekaart

AI driven marketplace Neo Bank for MSMEs/Farmers with unique credit score algorithm

est. 2018 · 25 staff · raised outside money

Ganga Gupta — Founder & CEO · MBA Banaras Hindu University

SIDBI

SIDBI MSME Financing Platform

est. 1990 · 24 staff · raised outside money

Manoj Mittal — Managing Director · BTech Kamla Nehru Technology

Kalam Labs

Edutainment platform for K-12 students with live interactive games

est. 2021 · 23 staff · raised outside money

Sashakt Tripathi — Co-Founder · BEng BITS Pilani

Harshit Awasthi — Co-Founder · BITS Pilani

Meghdoot Herbal

Manufacturer of Ayurvedic and herbal based personal care products

est. 1985 · 23 staff · raised outside money

Mridul Shukla — Founder

DocPlix

Docplix - seamless data exchange and medical record system for doctors and patients

est. 2021 · 21 staff · raised outside money

Ajay Shukla — Co-Founder & Chief Medical Officer

Varun Garg — Co-Founder & CEO

NuShala

NuShala digitises 4.25 lakh Budget schools of India with Android POS

est. 2019 · 20 staff · raised outside money

Ratindra Pande — Co-Founder & CTO · Bachelor of Technology MNNIT

Divyam Agrawal — Co-Founder & CEO

Mahendra Skills

Provider of skill training and development programs for the unemployed sector

est. 2015 · 19 staff · raised outside money

Shikha Jain — Co-Founder

Naveen Jain — Co-Founder

Knocksense

50 Cent: India's Beloved Singer and Songwriter

est. 2016 · 18 staff · raised outside money

Vibhore Mayank — Co-Founder

Varul Mayank — Co-Founder & CEO

Yourclasses

Mobile-based platform providing government exam preparation solutions

est. 2018 · 16 staff · raised outside money

Barkha Agrawal — Co-Founder

MedoPlus

Online platform offering multiple healthcare services

est. 2020 · 15 staff · raised outside money

Neeraj Chandra — Co-Founder & COO

Shekhar Yerramilli — Co-Founder & Director · BE IITR

cluster · 458 companies

Business Services

144 founded since 2018 · 6 funded

Sub-themes

it services · 189marketing services · 110hr services · 42facility management services · 20management consulting services · 17legal services · 17

e.g. King Group, Apex Services, APCO

cluster · 266 companies

Consumer

133 founded since 2018 · 8 funded

Sub-themes

fashion tech · 47local services · 39b2c e-commerce · 27professional consumer services · 27logistics tech · 20road transport tech · 19

e.g. Dalahub, Ekana, Hotel Jobs in UAE | Hospitality Jobs Worldwide | Gulfjobsuae.com

cluster · 209 companies

Retail

111 founded since 2018 · 7 funded

Sub-themes

fashion tech · 47horizontal e-commerce · 25beauty tech · 19apparel brands · 15e-commerce enablers · 15b2b e-commerce · 13

e.g. Darling Retail, winds e world, Sahu Agencies

cluster · 201 companies

Enterprise Applications

99 founded since 2018 · 6 funded

Sub-themes

hrtech · 51marketingtech · 51enterprise resource planning · 27enterprise software · 22saas · 21k-12 edtech · 21

e.g. Bot My Work, Quaere e-Technologies Pvt. Ltd., Hotel Jobs in UAE | Hospitality Jobs Worldwide | Gulfjobsuae.com

cluster · 183 companies

Healthcare

77 founded since 2018 · 6 funded

Sub-themes

hospitals · 42pharmaceutical distributors · 16traditional pharmaceuticals · 13clinics · 12services for healthcare providers · 12alternative medicine products · 9

e.g. Sahara Hospital, Chandan Hospital, Eras Lucknow Medical College Hospital

cluster · 171 companies

Real Estate And Construction

69 founded since 2018 · 1 funded

Sub-themes

real estate & infrastructure developers · 64facility management services · 20architects · 15construction contractors · 15interior designers · 13real estate brokers · 12

e.g. King Group, Loyaltech initiated operations, Bluetigers Security Guard Services

cluster · 159 companies

Edtech

93 founded since 2018 · 8 funded

Sub-themes

k-12 edtech · 77test preparation tech · 46continued learning · 28higher education tech · 28enterprise resource planning · 21academic tutoring · 14

e.g. EDUGORILLA COMMUNITY PRIVATE LIMITED, EDUMATION, Exotic Learning

cluster · 158 companies

Education

43 founded since 2018 · 7 funded

Sub-themes

k-12 schools · 33higher education institutions · 31continuing education centres · 28academic tutoring · 20test preparation centres · 13k-12 edtech · 13

e.g. Integral University, SRMS Trust, Code Alpha

cluster · 119 companies

Media & Entertainment

45 founded since 2018 · 7 funded

Sub-themes

internet first media · 61social platforms · 14internet first news publishers · 10book tech · 10film & tv studios · 10online photos · 5

e.g. Den Enjoy, Knocksense, Gaon Connection

cluster · 114 companies

Food And Agriculture Tech

75 founded since 2018 · 15 funded

Sub-themes

online grocery · 47crop tech · 43food tech · 33livestock tech · 8b2c e-commerce · 6b2b e-commerce · 5

e.g. UnORG, hashtagbazaar, EasyBuy

founder & background	role	company
Costin Mandrea Slmg Beverages, ex-Coca Cola Bottlers, ex-Coca Cola Hellenic Bottling, •IMD Lausanne (International Institute for Management Devel	Chief Executive Officer	Slmg Beverages
Asmita Singh MD Chandan Healthcare, Indra Diagnostic Centre & Blood Bank. University of Lucknow BBA 2005, Alliance Manchester Business School M	Managing Director	Chandan Hospital
Raj Gopal Chandan Hospital, ex-Gsr Institute Of Craniofacial And Facial Plastic Surgery, Indian School of Business	Chief Executive Officer	Chandan Hospital
Pooja Agarwal IIT Kanpur BTech.	Co-Founder	Shri Ramswaroop Memorial University
Pankaj Agarwal EIL. IIT Kanpur BTech 1998	Co-Founder	Shri Ramswaroop Memorial University
Masood Zaidi Co-Founder AMA Medical and Diagnostic Centre, AMA Medical Stores, IAR Techcore, King Medical Hall. Kanpur University, India BA 198	Co-Founder and Chairman	AMA Herbal
Rahul Mittra Ex- Acord, EDII	Co-Founder & CEO	Margdarshak Fi ncial Services
Rohit Kumar Singh Kashi Capital, ex-Equity Bank, ex-Equity Insurance Agency, Strathmore Business School (SBS), 2017	Founder	Kashi Capital
Suraj Kumar Verma Unorg, ex-Citi,Up State Bridge. Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur BE, ME 2018	Co-Founder \| COO	UnORG
Varun Rathi Ex-Ericsson, Citi. IIT Kanpur BTech 2017, MTech 2018	Co-Founder	UnORG
Samina Bano ex- Founder Bharat Abhyudaya Foundation, Deloitte Consulting, Texas Instruments. College of Engineering Pune BTech 2005, Indian I	Founder & CEO	RightWalk Foundation
Ganga Gupta Renaissance Global Marketing & Consulting, ex-RELIGARE HEALTH INSURANCE, IndiaFirst Life Insurance. Banaras Hindu University MBA 2	Founder & CEO	Financekaart
Manoj Mittal Ex-IFCI, Krisons Electronic Systems. Kamla Nehru Institute of Technology, Sultanpur BTech 1988	Managing Director	SIDBI
Sashakt Tripathi Ex-Co-Founder Elixar Systems. BITS Pilani BEng 2021	Co-Founder	Kalam Labs
Harshit Awasthi BITS Pilani BE 2022	Co-Founder	Kalam Labs
Ahmad Faraaz BITS Pilani BE, MSc	Co-Founder	Kalam Labs
Ajay Shukla Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences	Co-Founder & Chief Medical Officer	DocPlix
Varun Garg Ex-Dentisia. CPGIDSH, Lucknow	Co-Founder & CEO	DocPlix
Aayush Garg Docplix, College Of Technology, G.B.P.U.A&T, Pantnagar, 2016	Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer	DocPlix
Ratindra Pande Co-Founder NuShala, ex-Tuple Technologies, Cadence Design Systems. Motilal Nehru National Institute Of Technology BTech 2009, Weli	Co-Founder & CTO	NuShala

backgrounds shown where available

595 investors are on record backing Lucknow companies. The most committed:

Most active — backed 2+ companies

Institutional

Startup Incubation and Innovation Centre · accelerator / incubatorPontaq · VC fundIIM Lucknow Enterprise Incubation Center · accelerator / incubatorBrand Capital · VC fundQED Innovation Labs · VC fundWe Founder Circle · VC fundVenture Catalysts · VC fundACLR8 · accelerator / incubatorTetration Ventures · VC fundTriodos Investment Management · VC fundSamridhi Fund · VC fundUnitus · VC fundSIDBI Venture Capital · VC fundPeak Sustainability Ventures · VC fund+ 46 more

Private & corporate backers

BIRACPV SindhuLetsVentureNamita ThaparShantanu DeshpandeKaran JindalAkshay GhulatiApurva ChamariaAsmita SinghVijay Singh+ 525 more

hover a name to see who they backed

Funded startups — peer cities

Companies that have raised

company	industry	rounds	latest round	founded
EduGorilla	e-learning	5	2022-03	2016
Brainpan Innovations	hospital & health care	0	—	2015
0522 Axiotech	wholesale	0	—	2022
Incrementum Medtech	hospital & health care	0	—	2021
Ayushmathi Technologies	medical devices	0	—	2025
Aadrila	business/productivity software	2	2023-01	2017
ABC Genomics	biotechnology	0	—	2007
Adhita Bio	healthcare & lifesciences	0	—	2016
Alphasine	electrical/electronic manufacturing	0	—	2018
AMA Herbal	textiles	0	—	1996
Arboreal	food production	4	2024-03	2018
Authindia	arts and crafts	0	—	2015
Ayodhyawasi Corporation	renewables & environment	0	—	2023
Better Nutrition	food production	0	2025-04	2017
Better Nutrition	food production	1	2024-06
Better Nutrition	food production	0	2025-04	2023
BFC Capital	investment management	0	—	2001
Blendmest	aviation & aerospace	0	—	2021
Cashyear	information technology and services	0	—	2020
Chandan Hospital	hospital & health care	2	2024-02	2018
ClassMonitor	education management	6	2024-02	2016
CODEBUGGED	information technology and services	0	—	2019
COMETLABS	education management	1	2022-11	2020
Corn Junction	restaurants and bars	0	2022-07	2017
Creatoo	marketing and advertising	0	—	2024

round amounts sparse for tier-3 cities — counts shown, dollar totals withheld

company	industry	founded	employees
Nectra Digital	information technology and services	2026	—
Farmunite India	farming	2025	—
MacroVision AI	computer software	2025	—
Rishan Global	health, wellness and fitness	2025	—
Ayushmathi Technologies	medical devices	2025	—
FashionKart	apparel & fashion	2025	—
Sky Solar Energy And IT Solution	renewables & environment	2025	—
Absliq	computer software	2025	—
AhaTherapy	computer software	2025	—
AppUo	computer software	2025	—
Arigoy	health, wellness and fitness	2025	—
Arohan Partners	hospital & health care	2025	—
Bidsbeat.com	internet	2025	—
Careerboat	human resources	2025	—
DhipyCare	hospital & health care	2025	—
DISHA Health AI	health, wellness and fitness	2025	—
Flourish India Realty and Urban Development	real estate	2025	—
Flyors Holidays	leisure, travel & tourism	2025	—
Glimspire	information technology and services	2025	—
India News Juction	online media	2025	—