Women-Led Aukera Secures Rs 90 Crore to Accelerate Expansion

By: Women Entrepreneurs Review Team | Saturday, 11 July 2026

Aukera, a lab-grown diamond jewellery brand, has secured a new debt round valued at ₹90 crore (dollar equivalent of over $10 million), led by an existing investor, Alteria Capital, alongside other backers such as InnoVen Capital, Lighthouse Canton, and a top bank. The funds will be used to expand the company's operations, as the Indian market for lab-grown diamond jewellery grows rapidly.

It is the second funding round within the last year from the Bengaluru-based startup, where the company had raised $15 million in an equity investment round led by Peak XV Partners, followed by the participation of other investors such as Fireside Ventures, Sparrow Capital, Prath Ventures, and Alteria Capital. The initial investment helped the company grow its retail network and carve out a niche in premium lab-grown diamond jewellery.

Aukera was established by Lisa Mukhedkar and Kumar Saurabh in 2023 with a direct-to-consumer business, using company-owned stores. The brand is dedicated to lab-created diamond jewellery, which is becoming more popular among consumers in India for its ethical and sustainable practices, as well as the fact that it is more affordable than mined diamonds.

Key Highlights:

• Aukera raises ₹90 crore in debt funding led by Alteria Capital
• Fresh capital to expand stores, strengthen omnichannel operations, and drive innovation
• Retail footprint grows from 13 to 35 stores across multiple Indian cities

The funds raised will be used to "speed up" the company's plan to open more stores in existing markets as well as new ones, expand omnichannel capabilities, invest in product design and innovation, and recruit talent to fuel the company's next growth stage and build a more efficient ecommerce platform, the company said. Improving the customer experience both at the point of sale and online is also the priority.

Aukera has now significantly increased its retail estate since its last fund raising. The company has expanded its store footprint from 13 company-operated stores to 35 stores, with its expansion into new towns and cities such as Pune, Lucknow, Dehradun and Visakhapatnam as well as its continued growth in existing markets like Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Delhi NCR. The expansion comes within the backdrop of rising demand for lab-grown diamond jewellery in various cities of India, the company said.

In a comment on the fundraise, Lisa Mukhedkar, Founder and CEO of Aukera, said that the new capital would allow the company to expand its presence to more cities and expand its growth rate. This is because the company feels the eventual number one in the lab-grown diamond space in India will need a lot of investment in the long term as consumer acceptance gains momentum and the jewellery industry changes as per evolving preferences, co-founder Kumar Saurabh added.

The lab-grown diamond jewellery market in India is growing rapidly, with consumers increasingly turning to sustainable and affordable options as alternatives to natural diamonds. As more companies in this segment gain awareness and more technology becomes available, and as more retailers become available and accessible to investors, this has driven more and more investors to invest in these companies. Aukera's latest round of funding underscores the investor appetite for brands to develop a retail footprint in this new space.

As Aukera battles for top spot in the burgeoning lab-grown diamond jewellery market in India, it expects investors such as Peak XV Partners, Fireside Ventures, Sparrow Capital, Prath Ventures, and Alteria Capital to help it build its market share by expanding rapidly into retail stores, creating new product lines, and ensuring it has a unified omnichannel approach.