New Delhi, Aug 27 (PTI) IIT Kanpur-backed biomaterial startup Phool.co on Thursday said it has raised USD 1.4 million (around Rs 10 crore) in a pre-series A round of funding.

The funding round was led by IAN Fund and San Francisco-based Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation, said Phool.co, which focuses on circular economy converting floral waste into charcoal free luxury incense products.

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"We are delighted to get IAN on board as an investor and the funds raised will be used to advance the research and scale the operations of the company," Phool.co-Founder Ankit Agarwal said.

He said Phool.co aims to provide sustainable solutions to the temple-waste problem in India.

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"Through our efforts, we aim to build natural alternatives to synthetic chemical-based products by using deep-tech and research," Agarwal added.

Social Alpha, an initiative supported by Tata Trusts and the Indian government, had invested in the company when it was at the idea stage.

Phool.co had raised Rs 3.38 crore in a seed round from Social Alpha and DRK Foundation, and a few others such as IIT Kanpur and Balmer Lawrie.

"Innovative solutions for the sustainable development of the community is the need of the hour. Phool.co's circular economy model brings triple bottom benefits of environmental, social, and financial sustainability," IAN Fund Founding Partner Padmaja Ruparel said.

IAN Fund is a Rs 375-crore fund, investing in innovative companies in different sectors, including healthcare and medical devices, VR, AI, software as a service, marketplaces, fin-tech, big data, artificial intelligence, agri-tech and hardware.

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