Pune-based cleantech startup NovorbisItus gets funded by Rainmatter, the climate and deep-tech investment initiative of Nithin Kamath’s Zerodha
Lakhs of diesel generator sets power India’s cities, factories, hospitals, and office parks. They hum through power cuts, pumping particulate matter into the air that millions breathe every day. Add to that the 8 million tonnes of carbon emissions released annually from crematoriums, a problem quite India-specific. Harsh Neekhra, Gagan Tripathi, and Divyank Gupta were second-year college students in Indore when they decided to solve both problems.
Nithin Kamath Investment in CleanTech Startup
Five years later, their Pune-based cleantech startup NovorbisItus has raised ₹13.35 crore in a seed round led by Rainmatter, the climate and deep-tech investment initiative of Zerodha, with participation from Rockstud Capital, an early-stage fund focused on manufacturing-led businesses.
The company’s flagship product is an ARAI-certified, filter-less Retrofit Emission Control Device (RECD) designed to reduce particulate matter and harmful emissions from diesel generator sets without requiring operators to replace their existing equipment.
The device combines electrostatic precipitation with an automated cleaning system, and enables compliance with CPCB IV+ emission norms through a cost-effective retrofit.
The second product is arguably the more striking of the two. The Crematorium Air Purification System (CAPS) delivers a 90–95% reduction in air pollution from crematoriums, as certified by IIT Bombay. “Eight million tonnes of carbon emissions occur due to ritualistic last rites in crematoriums. This is an India-specific problem and we looked at this as an opportunity to combine our traditions and engineering innovation,” said Harsh Neekhra, CEO of NovorbisItus.
Rainmatter’s investment lead for climate and deep-tech, Abhinav Negi, said, “DG (diesel generator) set emissions and crematorium pollution tick all three boxes — urgent, undeniable, and underserved. Novorbis is solving both with technology built for Indian conditions, where global solutions have simply not worked.”
Rockstud Capital’s Founder and Managing Partner Abhishek Agrawal said, “With tightening emission norms and increasing regulatory enforcement, retrofit solutions like Novorbis’ RECD are becoming essential infrastructure.”
The fresh capital will be used to scale existing deployments, expand into new use cases including emissions reduction in boilers and steel plants, and develop on-site carbon capture capabilities.
