ZenZebra raises funding to bring phygital retail into everyday spaces

ZenZebra, a new-age retail startup transforming everyday physical spaces into curated shopping destinations, has raised an undisclosed amount in a pre-seed funding round led by Rukam Capital.

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Founded in 2024 by Tanmay Jain and Gurpreet Juneja, ZenZebra positions itself as an alternative to online retail by embedding curated brand setups into high-traffic locations. In India, where more than 90% of purchases involve some form of offline engagement during the decision-making process, the startup said physical retail remains critical to consumer behaviour. 

ZenZebra places brand installations in spaces such as Awfis, Smartworks and The Lodhi by DLF, aiming to introduce products to consumers in the course of their daily routines. It has worked with more than 150 Indian startups in lifestyle and consumer categories, offering them a new offline channel for customer discovery.

With this round of funding, the startup aims to scale across urban India by embedding shopping experiences into high-footfall environments such as co-working hubs, fitness centres, hotels, and educational campuses. 

ZenZebra claims to have worked with over 150+ Indian startups in the lifestyle and consumer brands category, offering them a new offline channel for customer discovery at curated offline touchpoints.

It plans to expand its touchpoints across Indian cities, and enhance its technology capabilities to enable real-time consumer engagement, while also strengthening partnerships with emerging, high-growth Indian brands. 

“Where you go says who you are — your gym, your campus, your workspace. At ZenZebra, we believe those choices should unlock value. The world should reward presence, not just clicks,” said Tanmay Jain, Co-founder of ZenZebra. 

“ZenZebra is tapping into a massive opportunity at the intersection of physical retail and digital engagement. As consumers seek richer, more interactive shopping experiences, their model is perfectly positioned to scale across India’s rapidly evolving retail landscape. We see tremendous potential in their vision and are confident they can set new benchmarks for how brands connect with customers,” said Archana Jahagirdar, Founder and Managing Partner, Rukam Capital.