HT Bureau
GUWAHATI, Sept 7: Zerund, a Guwahati-based manufacturer of sustainable bricks, has received Rs 7.8 crores seed funding from a clutch of strategic private investors including Dreamweaver Investments. The investment was facilitated via the Gruhas ASPIRE accelerator program, a joint initiative of Gruhas Proptech Fund, the DLF Family office, and Anthill Ventures.
Started in 2018 by civil engineering classmates David Gogoi, Mousum Talukdar, and Rupam Choudhury from Assam Engineering College, Zerund has brick manufacturing plants in Guwahati and Pathsala in Assam. The company manufactures high-grade, lightweight bricks which utilise 70% of waste material, including plastic and fly ash. The fly ash is sourced from the National Thermal Plant Corporation (NTPC) unit at Kokrajhar, Assam. The company will use the new funding to increase its annual production capacity, which stands at more than 25 lakh bricks, and expand its sales and distribution network beyond Assam to other Indian states in the coming months.
“We are on track to boost our annual production nine-fold to 2.3 crore bricks in 2026, in line with the expanding demand for sustainable bricks. Our investors in this round comprise experts with an in-depth knowledge of the Proptech (Property-Technology) space. Their support will be critical as we grow beyond our base in Assam and take our homegrown idea to the rest of India and beyond.” said David Gogoi, co-founder & CEO of Zerund.
“The construction industry in India is growing at a CAGR of 15.7% and needs grassroots innovation to prepare for a future that places sustainability front and center of all activity. Bricks are the fundamental building blocks in construction, and innovations such as Zerund’s product lie at the heart of Gruhas Proptech’s focus on decarbonising construction and real estate. We will work closely with the Zerund team as they scale their business to meet the increased emphasis on sustainability to future-proof the construction industry,” said Abhijeet Pai, co-founder of Gruhas Proptech Fund.
