The startup picture in Varanasi

Outside funding is a thin layer, not a defining engine: only 18 of 628 tracked companies have ever raised money. Nearby Patna has 50 funded startups, underscoring the gap without implying that the two cities are directly comparable.

Startups in Varanasi - Funding, Founders & Investors

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

Utkarsh Bank

Utkarsh Small Finance: Boosting business growth with accessible banking services

est. 2009 · 18,153 staff · raised outside money

Govind Singh — CEO & MD

Utkarsh Coreinvest

Provider of financial services to unbanked populations and small finance

est. 2009 · 8,729 staff · raised outside money

Suman Saurabh — Managing Direcor & Ceo

CASHPOR Micro Credit

Microfinance for BPL Women in Eastern U.P. and Bihar

est. 2010 · 5,775 staff · raised outside money

David Gibbons — Founder

Banaras Bead

Largest manufacturers of Glass Beads & Fashion Jewellery

est. 1940 · 240 staff · raised outside money

Siddharth Gupta — CEO & MD

Jhunjhunwala Vanaspati

Hydrogenated vegetable oil and refined edible oils

est. 1989 · 129 staff · raised outside money

Dina Nath Jhunjhunwala — Managing Director & Chairman

JVL Agro

Traditional Oil Production Company

est. 1989 · 129 staff · raised outside money

Jhunjhunwalaa S — CEO & MD

SMV Green Solutions

SMV Green Solutions: Financing and Support for E-Rickshaw Drivers

est. 2015 · 28 staff · raised outside money

Naveen Krishna — Founder & CEO

SMV wheels

Provider of cycle rickshaws on credit

est. 2010 · 7 staff · raised outside money

Naveen Krishna — Founder & MD

Surya Healthcare Group

Surya Healthcare Ltd. - Wholesale distribution of prescription drugs & innovative healthcare initiatives

est. 2002 · 1 staff · raised outside money

Indu Singh — Co-Founder & CEO

Arun Kumar Singh — Co-Founder & Managing Director

Aquvio

Manufactures reverse osmosis based water filtration systems

est. 2015 · raised outside money

Naveen Kumar — Founder

Clipo

AI-powered content repurposing tool

est. 2024 · raised outside money

Poonam Rai — Co-Founder

Dawailelo

Online distributor of branded & generic drugs

est. 2013 · raised outside money

Aditya Agrawal — Ex-Co-FOunder & CEO

Arpit Sarin — Co-Founder

Deeva Ventures

A wealth management company providing comprehensive insurance portfolio analysis

est. 2008 · raised outside money

Garvit Chaharia — Founder & CEO

Meta Tech Ventures

Provider of e-learning platform and marketing automation solutions for businesses

est. 2018 · raised outside money

Raj Agrawal — Co-Founder & CEO · Banaras Hindu University

Slain

Financial management platform for businesses

est. 2023 · raised outside money

Harsh Narang — Co-Founder · BTech IIT Kanpur

Mohammad Abbas — Co-Founder & CEO

VGM Security

VGMSecurity: Website Security App with Advanced Hacker Attack Detection

est. 2019 · raised outside money

Mrityunjay Singh — Co-Founder & CEO

Eliscan Collinson — Co-Founder & CEO

IIT(BHU)

College offering multiple courses and degrees in diversified streams

est. 1919 · raised outside money

Thaan

Designer and retailer of handcrafted luxury Indian apparel

est. 1999 · raised outside money

Santosh Energy Techno Solutions

Manufacturer of solar PV panels

est. 2017 · 1,282 staff

Ashish Kaushik — Owner

Heritage Hospitals

Heritage Hospitals: Established Corporate Multidisciplinary Hospital

est. 1994 · 329 staff

Anshuman Rai — Co-Founder & MD

POPULAR HOSPITAL

Multi super speciality hospital providing state-of-the-art trauma, medical, and surgical services

est. 1992 · 209 staff

Kiran Kaushik — Managing Director

Apex Hospital

Hospital in Central India with advanced healthcare

est. 2003 · 158 staff

S Singh — Founder

Royal Masala

Provider of a variety of spices, papad, and other food products

est. 2013 · 115 staff

Pramod Chaurasiya — Managing Director

JJ Plastalloy

Manufacturer and exporter of masterbatches

est. 1995 · 75 staff

Jagdish Jhunjhunwala — Managing Director

cluster · 106 companies

Consumer

66 founded since 2018 · 1 funded

Sub-themes

fashion tech · 27local services · 18religion tech · 17b2c e-commerce · 10online travel · 9logistics tech · 8

e.g. Tilfi, aagaman samajik sanstha, banarasee

cluster · 69 companies

Retail

37 founded since 2018 · 1 funded

Sub-themes

fashion tech · 27apparel brands · 8wholesalers · 6b2c e-commerce · 5home improvements · 4e-commerce support services · 4

e.g. AuthenticGi, Tilfi, eservz

cluster · 62 companies

Business Services

21 founded since 2018

Sub-themes

it services · 28marketing services · 14hr services · 5event management services · 4iot services · 4facility management services · 3

e.g. JP Software Technologies, creataum, Kashi Digital Agency

cluster · 42 companies

Edtech

27 founded since 2018 · 1 funded

Sub-themes

k-12 edtech · 22higher education tech · 12test preparation tech · 7continued learning · 7enterprise resource planning · 5social platforms · 3

e.g. Study At Home, L-kshya, Java Tutorials

cluster · 40 companies

Consumer Goods

12 founded since 2018 · 3 funded

Sub-themes

apparel brands · 11food & beverage products · 10home furnishing products · 8fashion tech · 5fashion accessories · 5baby & kids products · 2

e.g. Banaras Bead, Jhunjhunwala Vanaspati, JVL Agro

cluster · 40 companies

Education

14 founded since 2018 · 1 funded

Sub-themes

k-12 schools · 16educational support services · 8higher education institutions · 5academic tutoring · 3education ngos · 2continuing education chains · 2

e.g. Sunbeam, Sunbeam Academy, QA Solvers

cluster · 39 companies

Healthcare

16 founded since 2018 · 1 funded

Sub-themes

hospitals · 13clinics · 5alternative medicine products · 5pharmaceutical distributors · 4clinic chains · 3hospital chains · 2

e.g. Heritage Hospitals, POPULAR HOSPITAL, Apex Hospital

cluster · 36 companies

Travel And Hospitality

16 founded since 2018

Sub-themes

travel agencies · 8car rentals · 8tour operators · 8hotels · 8hiking camping & adventure tour operators · 1shore excursion operators · 1

e.g. Benares Hotels, manglam travels, siddhi vinayak travels

cluster · 32 companies

Enterprise Applications

15 founded since 2018 · 1 funded

Sub-themes

marketingtech · 8enterprise resource planning · 8enterprise software · 7hrtech · 7k-12 edtech · 7saas · 4

e.g. L-kshya, textr ai, asynczone

cluster · 30 companies

Financial Services

15 founded since 2018 · 3 funded

Sub-themes

microfinance · 8consumer and sme loans · 7asset management · 6insurance carriers · 4banks · 3brokers and dealers · 1

e.g. Utkarsh Bank, Utkarsh Coreinvest, Samavesh Finserve

Founder & Background	Role	Company
Govind Singh CEO & MD-Utkarsh Small Finance Bank	CEO & MD	Utkarsh Bank
Suman Saurabh Utkarsh Coreinvest, ex-Utkarsh Small Finance Bank, ex-Bhartiya Micro Credit, IRMA, 2010	Managing Direcor & Ceo	Utkarsh Coreinvest
Naveen Krishna Banaras Hindu University Banaras MS 2017	Founder & CEO	SMV Green Solutions
Naveen Krishna Ex-Centre for Rural Development. University of Lucknow BA 2003, BHU MSW 2006	Founder & MD	SMV wheels
Indu Singh Jan Kalyan Hospital. Motilal Nehru Medical College MBBS, Banaras Hindu University MD	Co-Founder & CEO	Surya Healthcare Group
Arun Kumar Singh Kharaujha Builders	Co-Founder & Managing Director	Surya Healthcare Group
Shashi Kant Rai MD Hero Cycles, Director SKSA & Nimbua Greenfield. IIT, Roorkee 1967	Co-Founder & Director	Surya Healthcare Group
Naveen Kumar IIT-Varanasi	Founder	Aquvio
Poonam Rai Co-Founder Clipo	Co-Founder	Clipo
Aditya Agrawal Ex-OYO, Zoylo Digihealth, 1mg, Startup Weekend, Career Launcher. United College of Engineering and Research BE 2012, Faculty Of Ma	Ex-Co-FOunder & CEO	Dawailelo
Arpit Sarin Tata 1mg, ex-Dawailelo Com, ex-Jagriti Sewa Sansthan, dr. k.n.modi institute of engineering and technology, 2012	Co-Founder	Dawailelo
Garvit Chaharia Bhawanipur Education Society College BCom 2002	Founder & CEO	Deeva Ventures
Raj Agrawal Co-Founder & CEO-Meta Tech Ventures,Founder-StudyAtHome.org,Founder-LeminAi,MSME & Startups Forum - Bharat \| Banaras Hindu Univers	Co-Founder & CEO	Meta Tech Ventures
Harsh Narang Ex-Tata Consultancy Services, Envestnet \| Yodlee. Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur 2019 BTech & MTech	Co-Founder	Slain
Mohammad Abbas Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad 2021	Co-Founder & CEO	Slain
Mrityunjay Singh YariApp, roreMart	Co-Founder & CEO	VGM Security
Eliscan Collinson CEO PAYPAT,Pickmor.	Co-Founder & CEO	VGM Security
S Singh Founder-Apex Hospital	Founder	Apex Hospital
Jagdish Jhunjhunwala Jj Plastalloy, University	Managing Director	JJ Plastalloy
Satyendra Kumar ex-RBL Bank, IntelleCash Microfinance Network, Yes Bank, BASIX. VNIT BE , MBA	CEO	FCSL

backgrounds shown where available

127 investors are on record backing Varanasi companies. The most committed:

Most active — backed 2+ companies

Aavishkaar Capital

Deepa Kulkarni

Nordic Microfinance Initiative

Goodwell Investments

British International Investment

Yunus Social Business

Nikhil Jain

Rajul Kaushik

Soumita Ghosh

Manish Yadav

Anil Sarode

Raj Kapoor

Institutional

Aavishkaar Capital · VC fundGoodwell Investments · VC fundYunus Social Business · VC fundTriodos Investment Management · VC fund108 Capital · VC fundParishi Capital · VC fundLok Capital · VC fundUpaya Social Ventures · accelerator / incubatorVillage Capital · accelerator / incubatorVillgro · accelerator / incubatorStartup Incubation and Innovation Centre · accelerator / incubatorAIC Sangam · accelerator / incubatorNCL- IIT BHU Incubation · accelerator / incubatorIdapthub · VC fund+ 4 more

Private & corporate backers

Deepa KulkarniNordic Microfinance InitiativeBritish International InvestmentNikhil JainRajul KaushikSoumita GhoshManish YadavAnil SarodeRaj KapoorPawan Kumar+ 99 more

hover a name to see who they backed

Funded startups — peer cities

Patna

18Varanasi

14Agra

12Prayagraj

5Gorakhpur

Companies that have raised

Company	Industry	Rounds	Latest Round	Founded
Aquvio	environmental services	2	2019-07	2015
Banaras Bead	import and export	0	—	1940
CASHPOR Micro Credit	legal services	1	2011-04	2010
Clipo	internet	0	2025-12	2024
Dawailelo	internet	1	2016-02	2013
Deeva Ventures	financial services	0	—	2008
IIT(BHU)	education management	0	—	1919
Jhunjhunwala Vanaspati	food production	0	—	1989
JVL Agro	food production	0	—	1989
Meta Tech Ventures	e-learning	0	2022-09	2018
Slain	financial services	1	2024-06	2023
SMV Green Solutions	automotive	6	2024-02	2015
SMV wheels	automotive	0	2011-01	2010
Surya Healthcare Group	hospital & health care	1	2010-04	2002
Thaan	apparel & fashion	0	—	1999
Utkarsh Bank	banking	1	2021-03	2009
Utkarsh Coreinvest	investment management	6	2016-09	2009
VGM Security	social network	0	—	2019

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

Company	Industry	Founded	Employees
AER	education management	2026	—
Edusmark	education management	2025	—
Anshika	machinery	2025	—
AYUSH LIFESTYLE	health, wellness and fitness	2025	—
Cadzee Academy	graphic design	2025	—
Curo 24	other healthcare services	2025	—
DarshanNiti	leisure, travel & tourism	2025	—
Digital Frontier Foundation	computer & network security	2025	—
Organic Hindu	internet	2025	—
C.P Industries	renewables & environment	2025	—
VaayuStays	hospitality	2025	—
Viral News	online media	2025	—
Voicom	telecommunications	2025	—
AasPaas	internet	2024	—
AGRI Grovestudies	education management	2024	—
Appoointo	other commercial services	2024	—
Axoil Agrochem	chemicals	2024	—
CampSum	computer software	2024	—
Chhota Plant	retail	2024	—
Clipo	internet	2024	—

The startup picture in Varanasi

Utkarsh Bank

Utkarsh Coreinvest

CASHPOR Micro Credit

Banaras Bead

Jhunjhunwala Vanaspati

JVL Agro

SMV Green Solutions

SMV wheels

Surya Healthcare Group

Aquvio

Clipo

Dawailelo

Deeva Ventures

Meta Tech Ventures

Slain

VGM Security

IIT(BHU)

Thaan

Santosh Energy Techno Solutions

Heritage Hospitals

POPULAR HOSPITAL

Apex Hospital

Royal Masala

JJ Plastalloy

Consumer

Retail

Business Services

Edtech

Consumer Goods

Education

Healthcare

Travel And Hospitality

Enterprise Applications

Financial Services

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