By Joanna Tan · AI in APAC · October 21, 2026

Scimplify, a specialty-chemicals startup based in Bengaluru, has raised $25 million in an all-equity round led by Hitachi Ventures, the venture arm of Japan’s Hitachi Group, with participation from existing backers Accel India, Bertelsmann India Investments, Omnivore and 3one4 Capital. Notably, two of its industrial customers, Henkel and Teknor Apex, joined as new investors — a vote of confidence from companies that actually use its platform day to day.

Founded in 2023, Scimplify doesn’t run its own chemical plants. Instead, its AI platform, Scinode, matches customer orders to the right producer across a network of more than 500 manufacturing facilities, roughly 90% of them in India, then manages production, quality control and delivery. Co-founder Sachin Santhosh says Scinode runs on specialised AI agents, each built around a specific step in the process — sourcing, regulatory compliance, or quality tracking.

The company reports (figures not independently verified) that its platform now serves more than 1,000 customers in over 40 countries, including TDK, BASF, Hitachi, Dr. Reddy’s and Holcim, and that its annualised revenue run rate has tripled over the past year to roughly $200 million, with US revenue climbing from $10 million to about $60 million. It says it has been EBITDA-positive for the past two months.

Of the new funding, about $7.5 million will go toward US expansion — including a manufacturing partnership with Rhode Island’s Teknor Apex — and roughly $2 million toward further building out Scinode. Plans include starting manufacturing in the US and Japan within a year; an early project involves recovering tungsten from scrap for an American metals maker.

It’s a sign of how AI-driven platforms built in India are positioning themselves as more than back-office tools — as infrastructure that industries from semiconductors to defence can lean on to diversify critical-materials sourcing beyond China.

Source: TechCrunch (Oct. 14, 2026); MLQ.ai (Oct. 14, 2026); JobsNHire (Oct. 17, 2026)

Joanna Tan covers AI investment and the business of AI across the region for AIAPAC.ai Insights.