Lab grown diamond jewellery startup Aukera has raised $15 Mn (around 128 Cr) in a Series B funding round led by Peak XV.

While Peak XV infused nearly $10 Mn, the round also saw follow-on participation from existing investors, including Fireside Ventures, Sparrow Capital, Prath Ventures and Alteria Capital.

The latest round catapulted the startup’s valuation to INR 600 Cr

Aukera plans to deploy the fresh capital for retail expansion and venturing into new markets. It also seeks to boost its product offerings to establish its market in the jewellery space.

“It’s an omnichannel play, so we need to build both the ecommerce side as well as the offline retail play,” cofounder Lisa Mukhedkar said.

Aukera currently has 13 stores across Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Delhi NCR and plans to expand its footprint soon.

Founded in 2023 by Mukhedkar and Kumar Saurabh, Aukera is a diamond jewellery brand that offers premium jewelery for both men and women.

The startup has secured INR 170 Cr in total funding till date, including Series A round raised last year.

Aukera has made a revenue of INR 5.19 Cr in FY24, as per Tofler. “The company will scale to a 1000 Cr brand in the next 5 to 7 years,” said Mukhedkar.

In the lab grown diamond segment, Aukera competes with Tata Group’s Trent, and BlueStone that is going for public listing. Besides, BlueStone is also eyeing a Unicorn tag as reported a week ago.

Moving past natural or mined diamonds, consumers are going for lab grown diamonds as they are available for comparatively lesser price.

India’s role as a diamond exporter has been significant but it is not a major producer of diamonds. It is, however, the world’s largest exporter of processed (cut and polished) diamonds.

Lab-grown diamonds are cheaper than natural diamonds, and the price difference becomes even more pronounced as the size increases.

For context, these diamonds are created in controlled environments using advanced technological processes and following two primary methods for their production – Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) and High-Pressure High-Temperature (HPHT). Both processes replicate the natural diamond formation by using pure carbon, high pressure, and extreme heat to develop the crystalline structure.

To seize the market opportunity, Trent is entering the space with its new subsidiary Pome. And not just Tata Group, the likes of Senco Gold, too, have expanded into this space with its newly incorporated wholly owned subsidiary, Sennes Fashion Limited.

Further, D2C jewellery brand Giva has hinted at the plan to strengthen its lab-grown offerings.

It doesn’t stop here, many new age startups are flourishing in this lab grown diamond segment such as True Diamond and Solitario Lab Grown.

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