Accel leads $2 mn seed round in personalised nutrition startup 1Balance

Natural supplements startup 1Balance has raised $2 million in a seed funding round led by California, US-based venture capital firm Accel. 

Larry Braitman and a group of prominent angel investors also participated in the round, the US and India-based company said in a statement.

1Balance plans to use the funds to build production facilities, product team and distribution networks, the statement added. 

Founded in 2018 by Dikshant Dave, Srini Sharma and Karthikeyan Iyer, 1Balance offers personalised healthy-living products on a subscription basis. 

Dave, who is also the chief executive officer, also owns a healthcare and wellness company Curejoy. He has worked with Small Device Technologies, Digital Chocolate and Grey Matter India Technologies.

Sharma has over 15 years of experience in all aspects of global business sales and has worked for NetKraft, Small Device Technologies and Grey Matter India Technologies.

Iyer, co-founder and vice president of the startup, has over 20 years of experience. He has worked with firms like Curejoy, Verchaska, New Product Idea and Wipro.

1Balance claims to combine traditional medicines and herbal science to create nutritional supplements. The company also says it customises the supplements based on clients’ metabolic profile. 

"1Balance has a unique approach and positioning in the healthy-living segment. It is unifying the latest technology and traditional herbal sciences (like Ayurveda) to deliver a set of robust health & wellness products. With personalisation at its core, 1Balance is positioned well to emerge as a leader in personalised healthy-lifestyle space," said Subrata Mitra, founder and managing partner, Accel.

"We are seeing a significant trend in the way people are looking at their own health now. The emphasis has gone back to healthy living as opposed to healthcare or disease-management mindset. And I see that 1Balance has this philosophy at its core. This is a company that breathes this DNA and to me, that is going to be the key, as this space heats up further," Braitman said.

Accel, formerly known as Accel Partners, has invested in several Indian startups including ride hailing platform Ola, online jewellery store BlueStone and food delivery platform Swiggy.

In May, health and fitness startup CureFit raised $75 million from a group of investors including its existing investors Accel, Kalaari Capital, Chiratae Ventures (formerly IDG Ventures).