Circle Raises ₹25 Cr Seed Round Led by Nexus Venture Partners

Circle has raised ₹25 crore in a seed funding round. The investment was led by Nexus Venture Partners and saw participation from Myntra co-founder Raveen Sastry, Delhivery COO Ajith Pai, and existing investor Titan Capital.

Use of funds and business model

The capital will be used to expand Circle's operations beyond its initial Bengaluru market. Funds are earmarked to strengthen its AI-powered pricing, product discovery, and verification tools. The company also plans to grow its network of Trust Hubs and logistics capabilities.

Circle is a managed consumer-to-consumer marketplace for pre-owned goods. It does not own inventory. Instead, its platform combines AI tools with human verification. The company handles the entire transaction process, including listing, product verification, pickup, payments, logistics, and seller payouts. Its dedicated Trust Hubs are central to verification and fulfilment. This managed approach aims to address common challenges in second-hand trade.

Traction and market position

Circle has generated significant traction in Bengaluru. The company claims to have facilitated around ₹25 crore in pre-owned goods sales in the city within a year of launch. It has generated 100,000 listings from Bengaluru alone and attracted over one million visitors.

Sellers on the platform typically find buyers within three days. Circle said, "It said sellers typically find buyers within three days, compared with weeks or months on classifieds platforms." The company reports strong user engagement, with nearly 40% of buyers returning within 90 days and half of sellers listing again. Its platform supports a wide range of categories, including smartphones, gaming consoles, cameras, furniture, watches, handbags, and sneakers.

Founder background and long-term vision

Circle was founded in 2025 by longtime friends Chirag Kataruka and Ankit Misra. The duo have been friends for 18 years. Kataruka, who leads operations, customer experience, and strategy at Circle, previously held leadership roles at Mu Sigma and Swvl, working through the latter's 2022 Nasdaq listing. Misra, who drives product, growth, and business, was a product leader at Jupiter Money and previously founded Chase.

The company previously raised ₹3.4 crore in a pre-seed round led by Titan Capital in November last year. Circle offers buyers product verification and a three-day guarantee. Its long-term ambition is to help 100 million Indians buy and sell pre-owned goods with confidence.

Market opportunity

Circle operates in India's fast-growing recommerce sector, competing with platforms like OLX India, Quikr, Cashify, and FreeUp. While these players overlap in categories and services, they do not follow an identical managed operating model.

The market opportunity is substantial. According to ResearchAndMarkets, India's recommerce market is projected to reach $5.91 billion in 2026. It is expected to grow to $8.61 billion by 2030, expanding at a compound annual growth rate of 9.8% over the 2026-2030 period.

Circle will use the capital to expand beyond Bengaluru.