Quick Take
- Underneat, co-founded by Kusha Kapila, raised $6 Mn (Rs 57 Cr) in a pre-Series A round led by Fireside Ventures.
- The shapewear brand crossed Rs 150 Cr ARR and turned EBITDA positive within eight months of its April 2025 launch.
- Fresh funds will scale operations and expand distribution across Indian cities, deepening the brand’s D2C footprint.
In This Article
Kusha Kapila Underneat has raised $6 Mn (Rs 57 Cr) in a pre-Series A funding round led by Fireside Ventures, the brand announced in December 2025.
The Gurugram-based shapewear label, co-founded by content creator Kusha Kapila and fashion entrepreneur Vimarsh Razdan, saw continued backing from existing investor Ghazal Alagh, co-founder of Honasa Consumer. The round follows one of the fastest scale-ups in India’s direct-to-consumer (D2C) fashion sector, with the brand crossing Rs 150 Cr in ARR (Annual Recurring Revenue), company announcement.
StartupFeed Insight
The number that matters here is not the $6 Mn, it is the Rs 150 Cr ARR in eight months while staying EBITDA positive. Most D2C brands burn cash for years to hit that revenue mark. Underneat did it profitably, which is why Fireside doubled down after seeding it. Watch this space closely: influencer-led D2C is crowded, but profitable influencer-led D2C is rare. StartupFeed predicts Underneat will announce a formal Series A of $15 Mn or more, or a major retail-chain distribution tie-up, before December 2026 as it races to build an Rs 100 Cr-plus brand. By Avinash.
Kusha Kapila Underneat Funding: The Deal Breakdown
The pre-Series A round brought $6 Mn (Rs 57 Cr) into Underneat, led by Fireside Ventures. The deal takes the shapewear brand’s cumulative funding to roughly $8.5 Mn (Rs 81 Cr) across its rounds, Tracxn.
| Metric | Detail | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Total Raise | $6 Mn (Rs 57 Cr) | Pre-Series A round |
| Lead Investor | Fireside Ventures | Also the seed investor |
| Continued Backer | Ghazal Alagh | Honasa Consumer co-founder |
| Previous Round | Seed (Rs 24 Cr approx) | Fireside Ventures and others |
| Cumulative Raised | $8.5 Mn (Rs 81 Cr) approx | Across all rounds, Tracxn |
| Announcement Date | December 16, 2025 | Company announcement |
The standout detail is timing: Underneat secured this round barely eight months after launch, a pace that reflects strong early unit economics rather than a cash-burn growth story.
About Underneat
Underneat is a mass-premium shapewear and innerwear brand founded in April 2025 by content creator Kusha Kapila and fashion industry veteran Vimarsh Razdan, and headquartered in Gurugram. The brand designs shapewear, bodysuits, saree shapewear, bras, and accessories built for Indian body types, climate, and outfits. Its product range spans 24-plus SKUs, and it counts Fireside Ventures and Ghazal Alagh as its key backers. You can view the founders on the official Underneat website.
Why Did Fireside Ventures Back Underneat?
Fireside Ventures backed Underneat because the brand proved a large, ignored category could be built profitably. Fireside has previously funded consumer names including Mamaearth, boAt, and Yoga Bar, and sees Underneat leading a shapewear segment that no Indian brand has truly owned.
“Underneat is building a category that has been structurally overlooked in the Indian market. What began as a precise articulation of a consumer gap has evolved into a brand with clear product leadership and early evidence of scale,” said Adarsh Menon, Partner, Fireside Ventures.
Menon added that Fireside, as the first institutional partner, chose to deepen its stake after watching the founders build with discipline. For a category with global proof points like Spanx and SKIMS, the investor is betting on early leadership in an open Indian field.
How Will Underneat Use The Funds?
Underneat will use the fresh capital to scale operations and strengthen distribution across key Indian cities. The brand has so far grown mainly through its own D2C website, powered by Kusha Kapila’s “What To Wear Under” Instagram series, company announcement.
Expanding distribution is the logical next step. Underneat reported Rs 12 Cr in gross merchandise value (GMV) in November alone, and a wider retail and marketplace presence could push those numbers higher. The brand serves a community of over 2,00,000 women who actively share fit and feedback, a base the founders credit for shaping the product.
How Does Kusha Kapila Underneat Compare?
Underneat operates in India’s roughly $20 Bn innerwear market, but within the narrower shapewear niche it faces few dedicated rivals. Most competition comes from broad lingerie players and international shapewear brands rather than focused Indian challengers.
| Brand | Focus | Positioning |
|---|---|---|
| Underneat | Shapewear-first | Mass-premium, Indian fit |
| Zivame | Lingerie and innerwear | Broad category leader |
| Clovia | Lingerie and innerwear | Value and range focus |
What sets Underneat apart is its single-minded focus on shapewear built for Indian body types and outfits, paired with a creator-led brand voice that larger rivals struggle to replicate.
What’s Next
The near-term milestone to watch is distribution expansion, with Underneat aiming to widen its retail and marketplace footprint across Indian cities through 2026. The founders have signalled ambitions of building an Rs 100 Cr-plus brand, and this round gives them the capital to chase it. Can a creator-led shapewear brand hold its early momentum as global giants eye the same Indian market?
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