Accel-backed Scimplify raises $25 million in funding led by Hitachi Ventures

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Scimplify, a Bengaluru-based advanced materials and specialty chemicals startup, has raised $25 million in a strategic funding round led by Hitachi Ventures, as it looks to expand its manufacturing capabilities and build a larger presence in global markets.

The round also saw participation from Teknor Apex, Henkel and an unnamed Japanese chemical giant. Existing investors Accel, Bertelsmann India Investments, 3one4 Capital and Omnivore also participated, taking the company's total disclosed funding to $80 million.

Founded in 2023, Scimplify works with companies that have developed materials in laboratories but need help scaling them up for commercial production. It combines process development, technology transfer, pilot batches and manufacturing through a network of more than 500 qualified manufacturing partners.

The fresh capital will be used to expand its research and processing capabilities in rare earth and critical metals, semiconductor chemicals and battery chemicals. The company will also invest in its artificial intelligence platform, SciNode, which supports synthesis route prediction, factory production simulation and coordination of research, quality, sourcing and regulatory workflows.

The fundraise comes as manufacturers face the challenge of translating advances in materials science into reliable commercial production. According to Scimplify, scaling a material demonstrated in quantities of a few hundred grams in a laboratory can take two to three years through conventional production processes.

“The future is being invented faster than the world can manufacture it. Global innovators need more than factories - they need deep technical expertise and the ability to manufacture complex materials at scale. That’s what we’re building, with India at the center,” said Sachin Santhosh, co-founder of Scimplify.

Building a global manufacturing network

Scimplify operates research and development facilities in Bengaluru and Hyderabad and serves more than 1,000 customers across over 40 countries. Its customer base includes Henkel, Coromandel, Dr Reddy's, Coherent, Holcim, BASF, Sanyo, Marubeni, TDK and Mankind Pharma.

The company plans to expand its US operations, initially focusing on chemistries where domestic processing capabilities remain limited, including rare earth and critical metals purification, as well as high-purity semiconductor and battery chemicals. It plans to establish physical processing capabilities in the US while qualifying American manufacturing partners for technology transfer, pilot production and validation.

Radhika Ananth, managing director of India at Hitachi Ventures, said the company was addressing a gap between India's manufacturing capacity and the technical and quality systems required by global customers.

“Specialty chemicals demand has outgrown the models built to serve it. India has the manufacturing capacity, but much of it sits underused, without the science and quality systems global customers require. We believe Scimplify is building the platform that closes this gap. In under three years, it has served customers in more than 40 countries, and over 40% of its portfolio is already in advanced materials for semiconductors, batteries and critical minerals, areas central to Hitachi's own businesses,” Ananth said.

She added that the team was a key factor in the investment decision, citing its understanding of Indian manufacturing and its ability to build the science and quality systems needed to serve global customers.

Scimplify's existing investor Accel said the startup had expanded its customer base and international reach since its initial investment.

“In the 18 months since our initial investment, Scimplify has grown from serving 600+ customers across 16 countries to building a global platform with 1000+ customers across 40+ countries. Its ability to take India’s scientific and manufacturing capabilities to global markets is creating a differentiated advanced materials business, and we are thrilled to continue partnering with Salil, Sachin and the entire team on this journey,” said Rachit Parekh, partner at Accel.

Scimplify was founded by Sachin Santhosh, Salil Srivastava, Dheeraj Dhingra and Hersh Manek. Rather than developing new materials itself, the company works with innovators to take materials that have already been demonstrated in laboratories through the processes required for commercial supply.

Its SciNode platform is designed to support this process by helping predict synthesis routes, simulate factory production and coordinate research and manufacturing workflows.