Air conditioning startup Optimist has raised $12 million in a seed and pre-Series A funding round led by Accel and Arkam Ventures, with support from several well-known angel investors.
The company plans to use the funds to expand its manufacturing capacity, strengthen research and development and prepare for its market launch.
“Heat levels are going up every year, and the country is not ready for it,” founder Ashish Goel said. “When we were growing up, coolers worked for most of the year. Today, they fail badly. ACs that are available are not designed for India’s heat, homes, or power conditions.”
According to Goel, during field studies conducted in cities such as Delhi, Jaipur, Agra, and Hyderabad, Optimist’s team found that 25-32% of ACs stop cooling effectively during peak summer days. “When an AC doesn’t cool on the hottest day, you’re stuck. That’s when the product has failed you,” he said.
“As a business, it’s a large opportunity. As a consumer-focused technologist, it’s a problem that clearly needs solving,” he said.
“Our goal is very simple for the first year,” Goel said. “Every customer should be comfortable, even on the hottest day. Their electricity bill should be the lowest in the market. And if there is any issue, it should be resolved quickly.”
Prashanth Prakash, partner at Accel, said: “As cooling demand rises alongside climate pressures, efficient and reliable air conditioning will become critical infrastructure.”
“The Optimist team is reimagining how cost effective and efficient cooling can address heat stress impacting hundreds of millions of Indians,” said Bala Srinivasa, managing director at Arkam Ventures.
Optimist was founded in 2024 by Ashish Goel, former CEO and co-founder of Urban Ladder, and Pranav Chopra.
The company is building air conditioners designed for Indian conditions, where high temperatures, high humidity, and rising electricity costs make cooling both essential and expensive.
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