Optimist raises $12-mn in seed funding

New Delhi: Optimist, a technology-led cooling solutions start-up, on Thursday said it has raised $12 million (about Rs 105 crore) in seed and pre-series A funding led by venture capital firms Accel and Arkam Ventures, with participation from several angel investors.

The startup, founded in 2024 by Ashish Goel (former CEO and co-founder of Urban Ladder) and Pranav Chopra, plans to deploy the fresh capital to scale its manufacturing capabilities, R&D, and go-to-market operations.

Optimist aims to launch its air conditioners in February 2026. The initial rollout will target residential and small commercial customers in Delhi NCR, Rajasthan, Telangana, and Bangalore, before expanding to other cities. “India has a population of over 1.4 billion people, but less than 130 million have access to real cooling today.

That gap is the real problem we are trying to solve. Cooling in India cannot be addressed with products designed for other markets and adapted here.

It needs solutions that are designed in India, for India, built for our heat, our homes, our power conditions, and our realities,” said Ashish Goel, Co-Founder & CEO of Optimist. The company plans to sell its products through a mix of direct-to-consumer (D2C) channels and exclusive brand stores.