There’s a certain kind of startup story that the Indian ecosystem loves — and Palmonas is starting to look a lot like one of them. The demi-fine jewellery brand, co-founded by actor Shraddha Kapoor alongside Ranjeet Mohadikar and Amol Patwari, has just closed a $40 million Series B round. And what makes this raise particularly interesting isn’t just the number — it’s what the founders are saying about the business underneath it.
The Funding Round
Palmonas has secured $40 Mn (₹373 Cr) in a Series B funding round led by Xponentia Capital and Vertex Growth Fund, with participation from existing investor Vertex Ventures SE Asia & India. PwC India served as exclusive financial advisors to the startup on this fundraise.
The round marks a significant step up for a brand that’s barely three years old and already building what appears to be a rare thing in the D2C world — a profitable retail network.
What the Money Is For
Shraddha Kapoor, who is not just the face of the brand but an active co-founder, was direct about the plan in a LinkedIn post after the announcement. “With just 60 stores, a significant chunk of our revenue already comes from retail. Over the next 12 months we intend to scale this even more aggressively. And here’s the part we are most proud of: every store is profitable. No cashburn-flagships-flex-value stores. Just solid fundamentals,” Kapoor said.
That last line is worth reading again. In an era when D2C brands often burn cash on flagship stores to build brand perception, Palmonas is saying something very different — its entire physical retail footprint is profitable, right now. That’s not a small claim, and it’s exactly the kind of statement that makes investors take a brand seriously for the long term.
What Is Palmonas, Exactly?
Founded in 2022 by Mohadikar and Amol Patwari — with Kapoor later joining as co-founder — Palmonas is an omnichannel jewellery brand specialising in demi-fine jewellery made from surgical stainless steel and sterling silver with an 18K gold vermeil finish.
The demi-fine category sits in a sweet spot that Indian consumers are increasingly drawn to. It’s not the cheap fashion jewellery that turns green on your wrist after a week, and it’s not the high-end fine jewellery that requires a second thought before every purchase. It’s the middle ground — quality materials, real craftsmanship, and prices that don’t require a special occasion to justify.
Shraddha Kapoor’s involvement isn’t just a celebrity endorsement play either. She has been present as a genuine co-founder — attending investor meetings, speaking at brand events, and building the product narrative personally. That kind of founder energy, combined with her existing reach across India’s young urban consumer base, has been a meaningful differentiator for Palmonas in a crowded accessories market.
The Journey So Far
Prior to this Series B, Palmonas had raised ₹55 Cr in a Series A round in August 2025, to strengthen its portfolio, expand its offline presence and enter new categories. The fact that Vertex Ventures has continued its bet into this round is a strong signal — returning investors don’t write larger cheques unless the metrics are convincing.
The brand’s trajectory — from launch in 2022 to 60 profitable retail stores and a $40 million raise in under three years — tells you something about the pace at which the team has been executing.
The Bigger Market Opportunity
Palmonas is riding a wave that is only getting bigger. The online jewelry market is expected to reach $69.68 Bn in 2030, driven by strong growth in digital payment adoption. And this growth isn’t just online — the appetite for accessible, aspirational jewellery is showing up just as strongly in malls and high streets.
The fashion jewellery segment has been picking up higher consumer interest with social media influence. The lab-grown diamond space saw significant traction last year, with brands like True Diamond, Jewelbox, Lucira, and Aukera attracting investments throughout 2025. Palmonas is playing in an adjacent but distinct space — one where the product doesn’t need the “lab-grown” story to justify its price point, because the quality and design do that job on their own.
Why This Round Matters
A $40 million Series B for an Indian jewellery brand that’s three years old would be notable on its own. But the detail that Shraddha Kapoor leads with — that every store is profitable — is what elevates this story above the usual funding announcement.
India has seen no shortage of D2C brands raise large rounds, open stores aggressively, and then quietly shut most of them down when the unit economics didn’t work out. Palmonas is building the opposite model: slower, deliberate, profitable store by store — and then using investor capital to accelerate what’s already working rather than to subsidise what isn’t.
The next 12 months will be about scaling that retail footprint aggressively. If Palmonas can hold the profitability record as the store count climbs, it will have built something genuinely rare in the Indian consumer startup space — a fashion brand with retail fundamentals that actually make sense.
