Helium Smart Air, a startup building smart ACs, has raised $2 Mn (about ₹19 Cr) in its seed funding led by India Quotient.

The startup intends to deploy the funds to accelerate its product development, expand distribution as well as invest in research and development.

Founded in 2025 by IIT Kanpur alumni Ashish Sharma and Aman Munka, Helium is building affordable and space-efficient ACs for residential purposes.

The startup has roped in IIT Kanpur as its research partner to build smart cooling tech that can operate on low costs. These ACs, which are yet in production, work with optimised energy consumption and modern app-led controls.

Additionally, the ACs also have gas leakage detection and device health analytics capabilities to safeguard consumers from unnecessary refills and repairs. Helium has partnered with Urban Company for installation and maintenance of its AC units.

“Existing AC options are oversized, inefficient, expensive and not designed for how people actually live. At Helium, we are creating right-sized cooling solutions for modern, functional spaces — from bedrooms and office cabins to small businesses and hospitality settings — where traditional ACs simply don’t fit,” Sharma said.

Helium’s maiden product is built for areas up to 100 sq ft with a 2,700 watt capacity, which can be operated on a 1 kw solar panel. The unit is priced at around ₹17,000 currently and deliveries are expected to commence later this month.

The ACs will also be available at select showrooms in Delhi NCR and Rajasthan post the official launch, with plans to expand to more geographies later. It claims to manufacture its units across several locations in India.

Still largely dominated by traditional players, the home appliances space in India is witnessing a rapid surge of new-age D2C brands that are increasingly focused on functionality, IoT integration for smart capabilities, aesthetics and size to cater to urban city-dwelling audiences.

Atomberg, for instance, started out with energy efficient smart ceiling fans and has since expanded to include water purifiers, mixer-grinders and other kitchen appliances in its retail portfolio.

The IPO-bound startup recently forayed into B2B manufacturing to partner with AC manufacturers like Godrej and Voltas, along with unnamed European companies, as a component provider after designing India’s first indigenous AC compressor.

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