Fueling the Future: Brand Power, Fraud Defense & Fund IV

Welcome to Unbox!

The Lightbox portfolio has been buzzing with activity. From product expansions, massive rebranding efforts, and thoughtful campaigns, we reflect on that which has kept our companies busy this quarter. We also dive deep into insights from our action-packed event on fraud proofing startups. Plus, we talk about everything fund raising as we roll up our sleeves to deploy a fourth $250M dollar fund backing the next generation of consumer startups.

Let’s dive in

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In our last edition, we informed readers about Cityflo’s entry into the four-wheeler segment as part of its growing B2B strategy. The company is now extending its expertise in commuter-focused, tech-enabled operations to businesses and government bodies alike, bringing corporate-grade reliability to India’s fragmented transport sector. 

Cityflo’s B2B expansion is hinging on two distinct offerings: Cityflo Corporate and Luxe. Through  Corporate, Cityflo is plugging its existing commute infrastructure to serve corporate employees through a pay-per-seat offering. Unlike traditional exclusive-use models, where a company books an entire vehicle regardless of how many employees use it, the pay-per-seat approach allows employers to reserve only a fixed number of seats on shared routes. By keeping its B2B pricing competitive and service quality consistent, the mobility startup is unlocking demand from mid-sized companies previously priced out of formal transport solutions. Luxe, on the other hand, offers airport transfers, outstation travel, hourly rentals, addressing the widespread dissatisfaction with quality on-demand cabs. 

Cityflo’s growing list of B2B clients include ICICI Bank, Lodha Group, and Emerson among others. The company is also zeroing in on providing better service quality to its B2B and B2C clients through key expansions in its tech suite, which now includes a smart safety camera system that enables the reduction of accidents by 40-80% through real-time streaming and driver alerts. 

In another major development, Cityflo's parent, Komorebi Tech, along with BEST veterans Sunil Solanki and Victor Naganonkar, have launched the Urban Glide Initiative, a public–private partnership designed to electrify Mumbai’s mass transit region. The initiative kicked off with 150 electric buses, with plans to scale up to 500 EVs in the first year under a Gross Cost Contract (GCC) model—and Cityflo has already secured a 75‑bus contract within this framework.

Under the GCC, Olectra will finance and own the buses, while Cityflo handles the tech‑enabled operations (driver apps, rostering, charging management) at a fixed rate of ₹16 per km. With each bus averaging 150 km per day, over a 3‑year term, the 75 buses will cover roughly 12.3 million kilometres, generating around ₹19.7 crore per year, all without Cityflo owning a single vehicle, perfectly aligning with its asset‑light strategy.

In other news, Cityflo has announced an exclusive partnership with media enterprise company Singpost India, unlocking a powerful new channel for brands to reach 2.5+ million daily commuters. Singpost India will manage advertising across Cityflo’s expanding fleet to include New Delhi through high visibility formats and in-bus displays. “We’ve found a partner who shares our vision of enhancing the commute experience to work with thoughtful, well-placed messaging and are excited to work with Singnpost to bring to life contextual, impactful campaigns that resonate with our customers, creating genuine value for them,” Co-founder Jerin Venad said. 

Health tech startup Zeno Health announced the opening of 75 new stores across Maharashtra, taking its store tally to a strong 260 across the state with a clear roadmap ahead for rapid acceleration in expanding its footprint. 

The company has partnered with a geospatial location platform, Data Sutram, mapping several micro-markets for its next sprint of store expansion. By looking at dense city clusters that extend as far as Thane, Navi Mumbai, and Kalyan, Zeno has assessed the possibility of opening 400 new stores in the Mumbai metropolitan area alone. Beyond Mumbai and Pune, the company launched four new stores in Nashik as it eyes lower-density tier-two markets. 

A little while ago, intending to mentor budding entrepreneurs, Zeno introduced ‘Pay It Forward,’ a startup incubator for early-stage businesses across preventative care, derma, insurance, nutrition, and hygiene. Co-founder Girish Agarwal, in conversation with Lightbox, said the project helped them get access to unique startup solutions ranging from mobile-first diagnostics tools to platforms managing chronic disease symptoms that are being leveraged across Zeno’s user base, chiefly on its app and website. The founders plan on engaging deeper with new-age brands to enable user retention across digital platforms. 

In a bid to make buying medicines less of a chore and more of a rewarding experience, Zeno has announced the launch of Zeno Advantage — a new customer rewards program designed to add value to every medicine purchase.

Zeno, which already helps consumers save up to 60% on their medicines, will now offer additional perks through Zeno Advantage. Users can earn rewards redeemable for exclusive discounts, top-brand electronics, household essentials, and a range of healthcare products.

“Our goal isn’t just to help people spend less on medicines,” Girish said. “We want them to live better too.” The company also hinted at future expansions of the program, including incentives for healthy habits. The move reinforces Zeno’s long-term vision to make healthcare more affordable while encouraging sustainable, health-focused lifestyles.

Game streaming and gaming commerce platform Rooter continued delivering exceptional growth across key metrics this quarter, demonstrating the effectiveness of its diversified monetization strategy. Revenue surged 39% quarter-on-quarter, coupled with an 18%  EBITDA loss reduction. 

In recent months, the platform has scaled multiple revenue streams in addition to its existing set of brand and publisher deals. The biggest accelerator is Rooter Shop—its native marketplace for virtual currencies, gift cards, and gaming vouchers—generating $1.9M in GMV, representing 112x growth over 10 months. Additionally, it reported a 15.5x Return on Ad Spend with a projected GMV of $3.3M come July 2025. Positioned at the intersection of content consumption and commerce, Rooter Shop aims to leverage India’s fast-growing IAP (In-app purchase) market, which is expected to scale to $9 B by FY 29 from $ 1 B currently.

New launches saw the introduction of ‘rStream’, a product allowing branded content to be placed in live game streams aimed at reaching gamers more effectively on Rooter and YouTube. Signaling yet another strategic move into seamless integrated advertising, rStream is a cutting-edge product that leans into AI-led ad creation and distribution, serving better ROAS to brands through transparent, verifiable campaign metrics delivery. At the same time, it aims to create scalable monetization opportunities for creators and game streamers with direct brand integrations.  

Founder Piyush Kumar, speaking to the press earlier, said the company’s core moat is a combination of its proprietary technology and low customer acquisition costs. It added 1.6M new users at a $5 CAC while maintaining 52% retention among its transacting user base, spending Rs. 2,400 per month, indicative of strong organic growth and product-market fit. 

Its other key area of interest over the next few months includes growing daily active users without additional marketing spend, all while attracting high-quality "play and watch" gamers who both actively play games and spend more time watching others play—logging an average of 8.5 hours per week watching videos/streams. These engaged users often create content too, such as walkthroughs or highlights, helping fuel organic growth for Rooter. 

Femtech menstrual wellness startup Nua continued carving a niche for itself in India’s booming beauty and personal care ecosystem at Flipkart’s Glam Up Fest 2025, held at NESCO, Goregaon. Riding on its ‘Zero Irritation’ proposition, the brand used the country’s largest beauty event to drive home the message that period care is as much a part of beauty as makeup or skincare.

At the two-day event, which featured over 100 influential brands including Honasa, HUL, P&G, Minimalist, and McCaffeine, Nua set up an interactive pop-up designed to provoke conversations around comfort-first personal care. Visitors could explore its expanded product portfolio — from sanitary pads to tampons, panty liners, and period panties — all in a new avatar reflecting the brand’s revamped, minimal packaging. 

Meaningful partnerships with quick-commerce platforms and other popular D2C consumer brands are fueling the company’s brand strategy in telling ways. 

Guilt-free ice cream brand Go Zero, as a case in point, partnered with Nua on the back of a key consumer insight. It all started with keen observations from the team at Go Zero, who were quick to notice a spike in the brand’s chocolate SKUs every time customers added period products to their carts on Blinkit.  This led to a thoughtful yet simple experiment. For a limited time, every Nua period-care kit ordered included a free ice cream. The 4x ROAS for the products shortly after revealed how period care has evolved to include comfort beyond hygiene. 

“Consumers today are bolder, more expressive, and deeply self-aware, and it’s only natural that we evolve with them. Our brand’s personality has grown to reflect this shift: it’s now bolder, more real, and more in tune with the modern woman,” Nameeta Saigal, the head of marketing, told us in an interaction, breaking down the brand’s evolution toward greater inclusion. 

In recent months, the company has been preparing to launch MyWave, a relatively affordable version of its original sanitary napkin. Positioned between the mass-premium and premium segments, this launch will help the company reach a new slice of India’s ₹10,300 crore (approx. USD 1 billion) sanitary napkin market. 

With 59% of Indian startups reporting fraud incidents in the past two years, the threat is real and growing—but so is your opportunity to stay ahead. Join leading experts from Lightbox's comprehensive 3-part webinar series as they decode the "fraud triangle," reveal early red flags auditors watch for, and share real-world lessons from companies like Rebel Foods. From understanding the behavioral psychology behind fraud to building your essential three lines of defense (strong internal controls, robust internal audits, and effective whistleblower mechanisms), this series transforms how you think about startup governance. Watch industry veterans Saradha Govindarajan, Vidya Rajarao, Piyush Kakkad, and Manoj Nair as they educate viewers about turning good governance into competitive advantage.

Don’t forget to watch Part 2 & Part 3!

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In this insightful piece by Entrepreneur India, Sandeep shares why more founders are gravitating toward operator-VCs — investors who have been in the trenches as founders or operators themselves — and how empathy, active engagement, and hands-on support can make all the difference in building sustainable businesses.

In another conversation with DealStreetAsia, Murthy shared Lightbox’s plans to raise its largest fund yet — a $250M Fund IV — while doubling down on building value in its existing portfolio. He explained the firm’s deliberate, slower deployment pace, reflecting founders’ shift toward profitability and unit economics. Lightbox aims to diversify its LP base beyond US and Middle East investors, exploring opportunities in India and Asia.

📹️ Watch: Sandeep Murthy moderates ET Retail panel on how D2C brands win offline

How are India’s top D2C brands cracking the offline playbook?

Watch Sandeep Murthy, Managing Director at Lightbox, moderate an Economic Times Retail panel with founders and CEOs from Zivame, NEWME, Technosport, Go Pizza, Bombay Shirt Company, and Cream Stone. From phygital experiences to expansion strategies beyond tier 1 cities, franchise vs. asset-light models, and drivers of profitability, this conversation is packed with actionable takeaways for brand builders.

🌯 That wraps up this edition! We welcome your feedback—reply to this email with any thoughts, suggestions, or simply to connect.