Airblack Rakes In $4 Mn Funding To Fortify Its Beauty & Makeup Learning Platform

Online makeup and beauty learning platform Airblack has secured $4 Mn (around INR 33 Cr) in its Pre-Series B funding round led by the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation.

The fundraise also saw participation from existing backers such as Elevation Capital and InfoEdge Ventures, as well as other investors like Blume Ventures, Thadani and Pawar Family Trust.

As per a regulatory filing at the Registrar of Companies (RoC), Airblack board has passed a resolution to issue 10 equity and 4,467 Pre-Series B compulsorily convertible preference shares (CCPS) at an issue price of INR 71,162 each to raise INR 32 Cr ($3.8 Mn).

The Michael & Susan Dell Foundation led the funding round with INR 16.32 Cr, while Elevation Capital and InfoEdge (via Beacon Trusteeship) contributed INR 6.33 Cr each. The remaining investment came from Blume Ventures (via Catalyst Trusteeship), Thadani and Pawar Family Trust.

The Pre-Series B CCPS will be converted into equity shares based on their conversion ratio.

The Gurugram-based startup plans to deploy the fresh proceeds for working capital needs, general corporate purposes and business expansion.

This development was first reported by Entrackr.

Founded by Videt Jaiswal, Vaibhav Raj Gupta and Pulkit Pujara in 2019, Airblack provides live, “do-it-together” (DIT) courses primarily in the beauty and online makeup sectors. Initially, it started as a travel company, but later shifted focus to the beauty segment after the pandemic impacted the travel and tourism industry.

Airblack’s latest funding exercise comes after 17 months. It was in June 2021 when the startup last raised $5.2 Mn in its Series A round co-led by InfoEdge Ventures and Elevation Capital.

Startup funding stood at a mere $1.7 Bn in Q3 2023 (July to September quarter), the lowest in the past three quarters, as per Inc42 data. On the year-on-year (YoY) basis, funding in Q3 2023 fell 43.8%, while the number of deals declined 38.6% to 205 from 334 deals in Q3 2022.

The seed stage funding plummeted to $159 Mn in Q3 2023, recording a 55% YoY fall. While the growth-stage startup funding nosedived 71% YoY to $0.4 Bn in Q3 2023, the late-stage investment remained flat at $1 Bn during the quarter versus $1.1 Bn raised in the same period a year ago.