Aniket Pujari
With this funding, the company aims to double its footprint across India and significantly expand its product offerings. Speaking to CNBC-TV18, Dinesh Pratap Singh, Co-Founder of Wooden Street, stated, “Currently, we operate around 100 company-owned, company-operated stores. And with this $43 million funding from Premji Invest, we plan to take this number to 200 in the next 18 months. And in the next two to four years, we will reach up to 300 stores.”
While most of Wooden Street’s existing stores are in Tier-1 cities, the company is now eyeing deeper penetration into India’s emerging markets. “Today, 80% of our stores are in Tier-1 cities, which are metros. But with this new funding round and the new surge of expansion, we plan to cover Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities, where we are seeing very promising leads and newer markets getting built up. Indian consumers from Bharat are aspiring towards trendy furniture that is affordable and functional,” Singh noted.
Wooden Street, which began as a core furniture brand specialising in solid wood, has steadily diversified its offerings over the years into non-solid wood, which is particle board and engineering wood furniture. Going forward, the company is also set to enter the fixed furniture market, a segment that includes modular kitchens and wardrobes. Additionally, Wooden Street plans to expand into aligned categories such as mattresses, recliners, and space-saving furniture.
While Wooden Street is on an aggressive growth trajectory, it has maintained a balanced approach toward profitability. “We have been very conscious and we have balanced growth vis-à-vis profitability over the last three to four years. So while we achieved a very sustainable growth of 40%-45%, on profitability levels we are very close to breakeven,” Singh stated.
In a separate development, Bengaluru-based diagnostics startup Orange Health Labs has successfully raised $12 million in its latest funding round led by the Amazon Smbhav Venture Fund. The round also saw participation from prominent existing investors, including Accel, General Catalyst, Bertelsmann India Investments, and Y Combinator. With this latest infusion of funds, the company has secured a total funding of $47 million.
Speaking to CNBC-TV18, Tarun Bhambra, Co-Founder of Orange Health Labs, said that the new funding will primarily support geographic expansion and service enhancements. “We are currently serving top four cities. A lot of the money from the $12 million fundraise will go in geographic expansion as well but the thrust of our focus will be essentially on expanding our test menu and giving our consumers a very wide, high-end test variety so that the basket of tests are complete for them,” Bhambra said.
The company recently introduced advanced at-home services, including ECG tests, pulmonary function tests, and X-rays, allowing patients to avoid the hassle of visiting clinics or diagnostic centres. “We want to bring diagnostics to the patients’ doorstep—whether it’s blood tests, radiology, or advanced scans—making Orange Health a one-stop integrated diagnostics platform,” Bhambra added.
While healthcare startups often aim for nationwide coverage, Orange Health Labs is prioritising a more focused approach. The company plans to expand from its current presence in four cities to 12 cities soon. “Expanding to the entire country is a huge opportunity, surely. But ours is a business that demands a certain degree of focus and execution rigour. Healthcare is a very critical business to get right at every step. So we will go deep into these 12 cities and provide the best possible service to our patients,” Bhambra emphasised.
Orange Health Labs aims to achieve a ₹200 crore annualised revenue run rate within the next year and achieve profitability within three years.
Additionally, Sapna Nijhawan, Founder & CEO of Sustainiam, discussed the company’s plans for utilising its recently raised $1.45 million pre-Series A funding. Launched in 2023, the climate tech startup seeks to revolutionise the $700 billion global carbon market with its fully digital platform for environmental assets.
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