Sumit Vishwakarma24 Sep 2026
11:51IST
New Update
Bengaluru-based preventive pain-care startup Betterhood has raised Rs 11.5 crore in a seed funding round led by Sauce VC, with participation from existing investor Kairon Capital.
The startup plans to use the funding to expand its product portfolio and distribution across quick-commerce platforms and modern retail. It will also scale its content and physiotherapist community and strengthen its product development and growth teams.
Betterhood had earlier announced a Rs 5 crore seed investment led by Kairon Capital in March. The round also included participation from Yogesh Kabra of XYXX, Rishubh Satiya of Plix, Rohit Chawla and Sifat Khurana of Innovist, and Shayamal Vallabhjee.
Kairon Capital, which backed the startup at that stage, has also participated in the latest round.
Betterhood was founded by Vikram Kadam and Neha Zade and launched in October 2024. It focuses on preventive pain care, with products aimed at addressing musculoskeletal discomfort before it becomes chronic.
Its portfolio includes posture and ergonomic supports, orthotic soft goods such as back, knee, ankle and wrist supports, as well as pain-relief and recovery products.
The startup estimates that the categories in which it currently operates represent a market of about Rs 20,000 crore in India, growing at a low to mid-teens rate. Including adjacent areas such as rehabilitation, fitness tools and personalised nutrition, Betterhood estimates the broader preventive pain-care opportunity at about Rs 35,000 crore.
“More than half of Indian adults over 45 live with musculoskeletal pain, and the age of onset keeps moving earlier. With increasing focus on movement and active lifestyle among the millennials, preventive pain management is a crucial enabler, and hence a large opportunity to build a digital first brand,” said Yash Dholakia, partner at Sauce VC.
Dholakia said Betterhood was taking a broader approach to the category by combining products with posture, support, recovery and education.
Building a physiotherapist community
Alongside its products, Betterhood is developing an education and community layer focused on posture, pain prevention, movement and recovery.
The startup has built Physio Circle, which it says has more than 7,000 physiotherapists. It also publishes articles and runs Q&A sessions and podcasts with experts.
Betterhood has also introduced The Physio Edge, a certification programme for early-career physiotherapists aimed at bridging the gap between academic learning and clinical practice. The programme was included in the company’s March funding announcement and is currently offered through Betterhood’s platform.
According to the startup, Betterhood has served more than 200,000 customers since its launch and published about 1,500 pieces of educational content across its platforms.
Deepankur Malhotra, founder and managing partner of Kairon Capital, said the investment firm had backed Betterhood at an early stage.
“We were the first investors to back Betterhood, at a very early stage, when Vikram and Neha were setting out to build a new category around preventive pain care,” Malhotra said.
“At Kairon Capital, we want to back exceptional founders early and continue backing them as their businesses scale. We are delighted to double down on Betterhood and excited to have Sauce join us for the next phase of the journey,” he said.
The founding team also includes Manoranjan Nayak and Subhanandan Palit, with experience across consumer businesses, healthcare, retail, ecommerce and growth.
Betterhood’s chief science officer is Shayamal Vallabhjee, a performance psychologist, coach and sports scientist with more than 20 years of experience working with elite athletes and high-performance teams.
FundingHealthcareInvestmentSauce VCInvestorBengaluru
