Scimplify, a startup in Bengaluru, India, has raised $25 million to grow its AI-driven business making specialty chemicals and critical materials, TechCrunch reported on 14 October 2026. Its pitch is to help manufacturers reduce their reliance on Chinese suppliers.
Hitachi Ventures led the round, which was made up entirely of equity. Two of Scimplify’s customers, Henkel and Teknor Apex, joined as new investors, and existing backers Accel India, Bertelsmann India Investments, Omnivore and 3one4 Capital also took part. Scimplify said the round brings its total equity funding to $80 million.
The deal values Scimplify at $250 million, according to a person familiar with the transaction who spoke to TechCrunch, up from $150 million after its $40 million Series B in March 2025. The startup itself declined to disclose its valuation.
How it works
Founded in 2023, Scimplify develops chemical production processes in its labs in Bengaluru and Hyderabad, then hands them to partner factories for full-scale production. It works with a network of more than 500 manufacturing facilities, and about 90% of its production is in India today.
Its AI platform, Scinode, uses specialised AI agents for research, manufacturing and quality control. “Each of these agents is basically solving for what [a customer] would want, working backward from the customer’s requirement,” co-founder Sachin Santhosh told TechCrunch.
Santhosh said Scimplify has sometimes gone from a customer’s request to delivering the finished material in two months, against the 12 to 18 months such work usually takes.
Growth, by the company’s account
The following figures are Santhosh’s own statements to TechCrunch and have not been independently checked:
- Annualised revenue run rate of about $200 million, triple the level a year earlier, with a target of $400 million over the next year.
- A US run rate of about $60 million, up from $10 million a year ago, now about 30% of the business.
- EBITDA-positive for the past two months, with profit after tax expected this month.
- Energy, electronics and defence now make up about 45% to 50% of revenue, up from under 15% a year ago.
Critical materials
Scimplify is working on making tungsten derivatives from scrap and on rare earth materials, two areas where supply is heavily concentrated in China, TechCrunch reported. Its customers include TDK, BASF and Hitachi.
With the new money, it plans to spend about $7.5 million on expanding in the US, including its manufacturing network there, and about $2 million on Scinode. It also plans to add production in the US and Japan over the next year. It employs about 340 people, including roughly 70 scientists.
What this means
- Supply chains are shifting away from China. Scimplify is betting manufacturers want other sources for critical materials.
- AI is being sold as a speed-up for chemistry. The company says its agents cut development time from over a year to months.
- The growth figures are the company’s own. Revenue and profit numbers come from the co-founder, and the valuation from an unnamed source.
Sources
- TechCrunch, “Scimplify raises $25M to challenge China’s grip on critical materials with AI”, 14 October 2026. https://techcrunch.com/2026/10/14/scimplify-raises-25m-to-challenge-chinas-grip-on-critical-materials-with-ai/
