Cooling-as-a-Service: Circolife Secures Funding for Expansion
Cooling-as-a-Service platform Circolife has successfully acquired $4.5 million (approximately Rs 40.45 crore) in a pre-Series A funding round led by Bharat Jaisinghani, joint managing director of Polycab India. This round also attracted contributions from various investors, including individual fund and family-office stakeholders like Nitish Mittersain, Intelliquity Ventures, Sumit Jalan, Siddharth Ladsariya, Anand Ladsariya, Anant Goenka, Sky Impact Capital, Rohit Dev, as well as family offices S N Damani and Vyom Wealth.
Funding Utilisation
The newly acquired funds will enable Circolife to broaden its fleet and geographic reach, enhance its in-house installation and service capabilities, and further develop its AI-augmented IoT predictive-maintenance and digital twin platform, as conveyed in a press release.
Company Background
Established in 2023 by Abhishek Muraka, Tushar Patil, and Devanshu Mishra, Circolife owns, installs, and services the air-conditioning units it deploys for their entire operational lifespan. The startup employs embedded IoT sensors and predictive maintenance techniques to oversee the fleet and refurbishes and redeploys units once they reach the end of their life cycle.
Current Operations
The Thane-based startup is presently active in five Indian cities, catering to small businesses and enterprise clients, which include restaurants, hotels, gyms, salons, co-living operators, and corporate offices, through a subscription-based cooling model.
Subscription Model
Within its subscription framework, Circolife installs and maintains the air-conditioning units, while clients pay a monthly fee. The company indicates that its units prioritise energy efficiency, and by retaining ownership of the equipment throughout the contract duration, it is able to effectively monitor and maintain performance standards.
Smart Technology
According to Circolife, its units are connected devices, featuring sensors that monitor temperature, power consumption, and gas pressure in real time. This information is channelled into a predictive maintenance system aimed at spotting potential equipment failures before they escalate into breakdowns. Additionally, the startup utilises AI and supplementary sensors to create digital twins of its installed devices.
Future Plans
Circolife has set ambitious goals to quadruple its subscription base and reach a total of 40,000 units over the next 24 months.
Market Trends
The Cooling-as-a-Service model is gaining popularity within India’s climate-tech and energy-efficiency startup landscape, enabling businesses to access cooling infrastructure without the burden of upfront capital expenditure.
Competitive Landscape
Smart Joules, another player operating on a CaaS model via its JouleCool platform, raised $10 million in Series B funding last December from investors such as SVL SME Neev II Fund, Waaree Renewable Technologies, and Spectrum Impact. This funding will support the expansion of its cooling and energy-efficiency operations across various sectors, including manufacturing and building automation.
Other startups venturing into the wider cooling-as-a-service and thermal management space include Tan90, which has garnered funding for its thermal-energy storage solutions and introduced a CaaS model tailored for cold-chain enterprises.