Neothera raises Rs 9 crore pre-seed led by Blume, backed by Bombay Shaving founder

What's the deal? NeotheraDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, an Indian science-led skin health startup, has raised Rs 9 crore ($941,486) in a pre-seed round led by Blume Ventures. The Barbershop Fund, Consumer Collective, and Veltis CapitalDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → also joined.

Who's backing it? The round drew a notable investor line-up. Angels include Arjun Purkayastha of Reckitt, Malika Sadani of The Moms Co., Mukul Rastogi of Classplus, and Diksha Pandey of Samosa Party. The Barbershop Fund is the syndicate led by Bombay Shaving Company founder Shantanu Deshpande.

Why now? The capital was committed in August 2025, at the idea stage, before any product launch. Founder Radhika Agarwal is a former consumer-tech investor at Blume, now backed by her old firm as a portfolio company.

What's the endgame? Neothera is targeting acne and chronic skin conditions by treating underlying causes rather than symptoms. Its model combines diagnostics, behavioural interventions, doctor-backed protocols, technology, and clinical formulations.

"We're building Neothera on the belief that skin conditions cannot be solved through products alone," Agarwal said. The money will fund technology, product expansion, research and development, hiring for its clinical team, and customer acquisition across India.

The signal: Blume partner Sajith Pai called the skin health and derma-care market "underserved, despite being one of the largest opportunities in consumer healthcare." The strong angel roster at the idea stage points to investor appetite for care-model plays that go beyond topical beauty products.

Read more: BWDisrupt