Zerodha arm Rainmatter invests in home appliance company Up

Rainmatter, the investment arm of Zerodha, has invested $500,000 in Benguluru-based smart home appliance company Up. The startup, previously known as React Labs, makes connected home appliances and its first product, ‘delishUp’, is in beta testing.

Founded by Mahek Mody, IIT Bombay alumnus and ex-chief of staff at Ather Energy, and Mohit Sharma, ex-head of engineering at Chaayos, the consumer hardware startup said in a statement that it had closed its pre-seed round at $1.3 million.

“Up has received investment from co-founders of Ather Energy, Unacademy and the Stanford Angels & Entrepreneurs India,” it added.


Last month, early venture capitalist and early Tesla investor Tim Draper had invested in the pre-seed round.

The startup said it will use the funds to execute the go-to-market strategy for delishUp, which is the company’s first appliance.

“The device, which has been used at 250+ young Bengaluru homes, features a cutting-edge touchscreen with unlimited in-built guided recipes, coupled with a jar which heats and cooks, and offers controlled chopping, stirring and other culinary functions,” said the company’s statement. It also offers functions such as grocery shopping and menu planning, among other things.

“When Mahek and Mohit showed us delishUp and what they were trying to build, we really liked it. We could instantly see that this could go a long way in helping people eat healthy. We’re really excited to join Up on this journey,” said Nithin Kamath, cofounder & CEO of Zerodha.

“Nikhil and the whole Zerodha-Rainmatter family are the flag bearers of health and nutrition in the Indian startup sector. Them discovering and using delishUp and following that with an investment is a massive vote of confidence,” said Mody, who is also CEO.

Up said deliveries of the device would begin in December.