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upliance.ai is in advanced talks to raise $3 Mn to $4 Mn in a Series A round, which is expected to close by January 2027, sources told Inc42. The proposed funding could help the smart appliance startup strengthen R&D, improve its interface, and expand into international markets. A new investor is expected to join the startup’s cap table, while existing backers, including Khosla Ventures, are looking to invest further D2C home appliance startup upliance.ai is in advanced talks to raise $3 Mn to $4 Mn (around ₹28-₹37 Cr) in a Series A funding round, sources told Inc42. A new investor is expected to join the startup’s cap table, while existing backers, including Khosla Ventures, are looking to invest further, the sources said. The startup could use the fresh capital to strengthen R&D, improve its interface, and expand into international markets, they added. Inc42 has reached out to upliance.ai for comment. The story will be updated based on the startup’s response. The startup previously raised ₹34 Cr in a seed funding round led by Khosla Ventures in February 2024, at a valuation of ₹143 Cr. Founded in 2021 by former Ather Energy executive Mahek Mody and former Chaayos employee Mohit Sharma, upliance.ai builds smart kitchen appliances. Its portfolio includes the upliance 2.0+ cooking assistant and a 12L Smart Air Fryer Oven launched in July. The startup uses generative AI to translate recipes into instructions its cooking assistant can execute. For instance, its YouTube recipe feature breaks cooking videos into steps and maps them to the appliance’s capabilities, including chopping ingredients and adjusting cooking sequences. In an earlier interaction with Inc42, Mody said customers can also access recipes through the company’s app and leave a voicemail if something goes wrong while cooking. The team responds to these queries and uses ratings and feedback to improve recipes over time. The funding talks come amid growing activity in India’s smart kitchen appliances market. According to MarkNtel Advisors, the market is estimated to be worth $800 Mn in 2026 and is projected to reach $2.99 Bn by 2032, growing at a CAGR of 25%. Cooking appliances account for about 48% of the market in 2026. The segment includes both startups and established appliance brands offering varying degrees of cooking automation. Wonderchef entered the automated cooking appliance space in April 2024 with the launch of Chef Magic, an all-in-one kitchen robot. The device automates functions such as chopping, stirring, steaming, sautéing and kneading, and comes with an in-built weighing scale, touchscreen interface and more than 200 preloaded recipes. More recently, Philips launched OneChef in India in March 2026, combining functions such as air frying, stir frying, steaming, and boiling in a single appliance.
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