Scimplify raises $25 million to shrink the lab-to-production gap in chemicals

Indian startup Scimplify has closed a $25 million strategic round led by Hitachi Ventures, with two of its largest customers — Henkel and Teknor Apex — joining as investors. The financing lifts the company's post-money valuation to $250 million, a sharp increase from the $150 million valuation set in a $40 million Series B in March 2025, and brings total equity raised to $80 million.

Founded in 2023 and operating from Bengaluru, Scimplify targets a persistent industry bottleneck: the 12-to-18-month gap between a chemical discovery in the lab and qualified, large-scale production.

At the center of its approach is Scinode, a platform that runs specialized AI agents for research, manufacturing and quality control. The agents work backward from a customer's requirements, identify viable production routes and coordinate between Scimplify's own R&D facilities in Bengaluru and Hyderabad and a network of more than 500 partner factories. According to founder Sachin Santhosh, this model has in some cases delivered finished material within two months of receiving specifications. Roughly 90% of manufacturing currently takes place in India, but the company plans to extend its partner network into the United States and Japan over the coming year.

The financial trajectory shows rapid acceleration. U.S. annual recurring revenue has grown sixfold to about $60 million from $10 million a year ago, and the American market now accounts for roughly 30% of the business. Total ARR stands at approximately $200 million, triple the year-earlier figure, with a target of $400 million for next year. Scimplify reports positive EBITDA for the past two months and expects to reach net profitability this month, while serving more than 1,000 customers across over 40 countries.

The most striking shift is in revenue composition. Energy, electronics and defense now represent 45% to 50% of turnover, up from less than 15% a year ago. Customers outside India generate more than half of revenue, a jump from under 5% eighteen months ago. The change reflects a broader push to reduce reliance on China for critical materials and semiconductors, and Scimplify is positioning itself as the intermediary layer that compresses the timeline from need definition to qualified supply — without owning factories, instead leveraging a partner network and a platform that retains long-term customer context.