CarbonStrong is a climate-tech startup based in Bengaluru. CarbonStrong has raised ₹12.5 crore in a seed funding round led by IAN Angel Fund. Other notable investors joining the investment round include Rainmatter, Social Alpha, Spectrum Impact, and Full Circle Ventures.

The new funds will be used to establish the company’s first production facility, continue growing its in-house staff, develop and test new products, and move from initial customer trials to commercial-scale production with an ultimate objective of raising production capacity to 100,000 tonnes per year over two years.

Technical value proposition and compatibility

Cement is an essential raw material used in today’s building processes. It is also one of the most polluting materials that exists today, contributing to more than 8% of total carbon dioxide emissions globally. Hundreds of millions of tons of waste materials such as fly ash and slag are generated every year.

Conventional approaches have strict capacity constraints when using industrial wastes for cement substitution, while still striving to retain structural performance in concrete. CarbonStrong fills this operational gap through a collection of coal, steel, and other industrial byproduct-derived materials that can contribute as much as 50% of the cement in concrete.

CarbonStrong’s low-carbon binders have been designed for high cost and operational advantages for the construction sector. The company describes its alternative building materials as being at least 30% lower in price than traditional cement, but also improving the overall durability of concrete. 

Crucial for the concrete producer, CarbonStrong materials can easily be incorporated into the current manufacturing plant and manufacturing process. This compatibility allows potential customers to avoid significant capital outlays for new machinery or changes in normal working habits when considering using the low-carbon option.

Market opportunity and operational growth roadmap

CarbonStrong ran several customer trials and paid pilots before this seed funding round. Low-carbon materials have already been leveraged in actual demonstration projects across major cities such as Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Chennai. 

The new capital is being used to develop those successful early trials into long-term commercial supply agreements with ready-mix concrete companies, property builders and civil engineering contractors, and manufacturers of precast concrete and paver blocks.

CarbonStrong’s pioneering methods in the field of climate-tech have garnered widespread industry praise. The startup has been recognized by the Avaana-Startup India-NITI Aayog AIM Grand Challenge for ClimateTech Innovation-2025 and also received recognition from HCL ClimaForce-2026. 

CarbonStrong is actively developing the range of industrial waste streams that can be processed into high-quality cementitious binders to maintain this growth curve. Low-carbon development of steel slag, copper slag, mine tailings, and other industrial by-products into materials is in its future research and development roadmap.

The market potential of sustainable building materials in India is large enough. By 2030, India’s internal need for cement alternatives is expected to amount to about ₹25,000 crore, according to CarbonStrong estimates. 

Co-founder and CEO Harsh Jain highlighted the need for scaling up such solutions as India is positioned to build the bulk of its infrastructure in the next 25-30 years and every ton of concrete used must be stronger, more cost-effective, and have a lower carbon footprint. 

With the seed capital, CarbonStrong gets the necessary resources to produce the successful material technology on an industrial level. CarbonStrong’s short-term business strategy includes building presence across India and, in the near future, intends to expand its sustainable building solution in other emerging markets in the Global South. 

In the longer term, CarbonStrong has ambitiously targeted a production capacity of 10 million tonnes a year by 2035. IAN Group is the nation’s largest horizontal early-stage investment platform, with its members being the $100 million IAN Alpha Fund, a series of SEBI-registered venture capital funds, and the IAN Angel Fund. 

The IAN Group consists of validators and investors, comprising around 500 investors including industry leaders and entrepreneurs, which helps founders secure capital ranging from ₹50 lakh to ₹50 crore, along with access to global markets and strategic mentorship.

Conclusion

IAN Angel Fund’s investment in CarbonStrong’s ₹12.5 crore seed round marks a historic turning point for the commercialization of low-carbon construction materials in India. CarbonStrong is an approach that is bringing new additions to the binder mix based on abundant industrial waste materials like slag and fly ash that can be used to replace up to 50% of traditional cement without any change in infrastructure. With a robust investor community, robust customer trials in major cities, and a vision to access the projected ₹25,000 crore domestic market, it is positioned to scale its manufacturing operations to meet its initial 100,000 tonne annual production capacity and make a meaningful contribution to sustainable urban development.