Wootz.work Raises Funds To Speed Up Cross Border Procurement Of Light Engineering Products

SaaS startup Wootz.work has raised $3.5 Mn in a seed round led by Matrix Partners India and Nexus Venture Partners.

The round saw participation from AdvantEdge and Mars Shot Ventures along with 30 angel investors including Livspace cofounder Ramakant Sharma, Zetwerk founders.

The startup will utilise the funds to establish the early team, build technology and strengthen its presence in the US and UK.

Founded in 2023 by Karan Anand and Himanshu Uniyal, Wootz.work aims to streamline the cross border buying experience for light engineering products through technology and ownership of the process from design to delivery.

Besides connecting buyers with sellers, Wootz.work links them directly to products and solutions. Its technology can tailor products fast, contextualising existing SME capabilities for the buyer’s unique requirements.

“We are convinced that the conditions have never been better for India and Southeast Asia to emerge as a global manufacturing hub for light engineering products. However, tapping this opportunity for SMEs is not as straightforward given their scale, differing engineering standards, regulatory environments, market distances and the imperative of robust after-sales service. Our goal at Wootz.work is to address this need and build at scale, to become a trusted, enduring procurement channel for our global customers,” Karan Anand, cofounder and CEO of Wootz.work said.

Wootz.work is currently working with factories and Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) in the UK across their growth, automation, and maintenance, repair and operation (MRO) phases. The company will be setting up new offices in the UK and US this year.

Over the past year, many startups offering solutions to SMEs across segments such as financing, automation, have caught investor attention.

The Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) sector employs over 100 Mn people and contributes around 6.11% of the manufacturing GDP and 24.63% of the GDP from service activities.

Meanwhile, funding winter in India continues to distress Indian startups as funding plunged to $5.4 Bn in H1 2023 compared to $19 Bn in the corresponding period of last year, as per Inc42’s report.

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