Bengaluru-based pre-owned items market Circle has raised Rs 25 crore in a seed fundingspherical led by Nexus Enterprise Companions, with participation from present investorsTitan Capital and Raveen Sastry, co-founder of Myntra.

Ajith Pai, COO of logistics firm Delhivery, additionally participated in the spherical as an angel investor.

The startup plans to use the contemporary capital to develop past Bengaluru, make investments in AI-powered pricing, product discovery and verification, and strengthen its logistics infrastructure and product verification services, recognized as Belief Hubs. 

Based in 2025 by Chirag Kataruka and Ankit Misra, Circle operates a managed C2C market that allows people to purchase and promote pre-owned items with out the startup proudly owning the stock.

Inside a yr of its launch, Circle claims to have facilitated round Rs 25 crore in pre-owned items gross sales, attracted extra than one million guests and generated 100,000 listings in Bengaluru alone.

The startup additionally stated sellers on its platform sometimes discover patrons inside three days, in contrast with the weeks or months that listings can typically take to promote on standard categorized platforms.

How does Circle’s pre-owned items market work?

In India, people purchase and promote pre-owned items via categorized platforms, neighbourhood teams and casual networks. Nevertheless, considerations over product high quality, restricted verification, cost dangers and logistical difficulties can complicate transactions between patrons and sellers.

Circle goals to deal with these challenges by combining AI-based expertise, human verification and managed fulfilment to simplify the shopping for and promoting course of.

In contrast to resellers that buy and maintain second-hand stock, the startup facilitates transactions between particular person customers whereas managing key facets of the course of, together with product listings, verification, funds, pickups and deliveries.

Its market covers a number of classes, together with smartphones, gaming consoles, cameras, workplace chairs, furnishings, watches, purses and sneakers.

For patrons, Circle supplies product situation verification, protected funds and its Circle Assure, which consists of a three-day return coverage for eligible orders. It additionally operates devoted Belief Hubs to assist product verification and order fulfilment. 

“Too many Indians have skilled the uncertainty of shopping for or promoting pre-owned items. At Circle, we’re taking possession of belief, so patrons and sellers have somebody they can depend on. That’s why we constructed devoted Belief Hubs for verification and fulfilment. Our ambition is to assist 100 million Indians purchase and promote with confidence on Circle,” stated Chirag Kataruka, co-founder of Circle.

Circle has additionally reported returning customers, with almost 40% of its patrons coming again to the platform inside 90 days, whereas half of its sellers checklist extra merchandise, in accordance to the startup.

“Practically 40% of our patrons come again inside 90 days, and half our sellers checklist once more. That tells us shopping for and promoting pre-owned can change into a common half of folks’s lives. India has an unimaginable quantity of worth sitting in its properties. We’re constructing Circle to make it ridiculously straightforward to unlock that worth, and to make pre-owned a pure first alternative for tens of millions of Indians,” stated Ankit Misra, co-founder of Circle.

Circle plans enlargement past Bengaluru

The newest investmentwill assist Circle’s plans to enter new cities and additional develop its expertise and operational infrastructure.

A key focus will be enhancing its AI-powered instruments for pricing, product discovery and verification. The startup expects these enhancements to simplify the itemizing course of, cut back handbook work and assist it deal with a bigger quantity of transactions.

The startup additionally plans to develop its community of Belief Hubs and logistics companions as it strikes into extra markets.

Suvir Sujan, companion at Nexus Enterprise Companions, stated the difficulties related with shopping for and promoting used items current an alternative for platforms searching for to simplify such transactions.

“India’s pre-owned market is giant, however promoting used items stays tough due to prices, belief & scale. Circle has understood this drawback deeply and is executing exceptionally effectively to clear up it. We imagine they have the potential to basically reshape how India buys and sells pre-owned items,” Sujan stated.

The newest spherical follows Circle’s Rs 3.4 crore pre-seed fundingin November 2025, which was led by Titan Capital, with participation from Raveen Sastry. The earlier funding was supposed to strengthen its AI-based verification methods and develop its choices throughout electronics and family items. 

Circle’s enlargement past Bengaluru will check whether or not its mannequin of combining AI-based instruments, human verification and managed logistics can assist a bigger buyer base whereas persevering with to facilitate transactions with out holding stock.