B2C Clothing Startup Cub McPaws Raises $800k in Pre-Series A Round, In Talks With Global Venture Capital For Series A Cub McPaws, a clothing brand focused on Generation Alpha-kids born after 2010-, said the funding round was led by a Dubai-based family office along with participation from a clutch of institutional and angel investors across Japan, Dubai, India and the US
By Shipra Singh
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Cub McPaws, a clothing brand focused on Generation Alpha—kids born after 2010—, on Monday announced it has raised USD 800,000 in pre-Series A funding round from a clutch of institutional and angel investors across Japan, Dubai, India and the US.
The round was led by a Dubai based global family office along with participation from existing investor Samyakth Capital. Japanese angel investors who participated in the round include Takayuki Sugiura (CEO of Circus Capital), Daisuke Takagi (Executive Director at UBS), Motoko Tanabe (founder of HMF Corporation), Toshiro Wakimaru (ex-COO of MedPeer Inc) and Taichi Nakamura (CEO of Venex Ltd).
Founded in December 2018 by ex-Pepperfry colleagues Abhay Bhat and Kinnar Shah, McPaws is a direct-to-consumer brand. The company claims to use its patented augmented reality technology to create an unparalleled engagement with its merchandise.
Despite fall in consumer demand due to Covid-19 pandemic, the Mumbai-headquartered startup claims to have recorded a strong 50 per cent month-on-month growth.
"The team at Cub McPaws has built a fundamentally strong business and has demonstrated growth even during the tough times. The integrated technology offering, including the patented AR technology, gives it an edge over other consumer companies as it can give disproportionate growth to the brand," said Sugiura on behalf of investors.
Cub McPaws has earlier raised capital from other prominent angel investors, including Pepperfry CEO Ambareesh Murty, Robin Joffe, MD at Frost and Sullivan and Anuj Golecha, co-founder Venture Catalysts. In December 2019, it raised an undisclosed amount in its Pre-Seed round from incubator Venture Catalysts.
"The new investment will help us scale our technology offering and create a complete range of products. We will explore international markets where our products have generated significant interest," said Bhat.
Commenting on the pre-Series A funding, Apoorv Ranjan Sharma, co-founder and president, Venture Catalysts said "The confidence of existing investors reinvesting in this round stems from two important factors - the robust growth of the brand during the challenging COVID time and a loyal consumer base it has created in a short time span."
The company is reportedly in talks with Global Venture Capital funds to raise capital in Series A investment round.
