Anar, an Elevation-backed B2B network for Indian SMBs, shut down and returned capital

A B2B networking platform where Indian manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers uploaded catalogues, posted requirements and connected.

SMBs across a value chain would network, source and trade through one tech platform

$6.2M seed co-led by Elevation Capital and Accel India in September 2021, plus Titan Capital and angels including Meesho's cofounders

Founded in 2020 by Nishank Jain and Sanjay Bhat to connect small and medium enterprises across the value chain, from manufacturers to retailers.

Raised a $6.2M seed at the top of the 2021 funding boom; through 2023 the team kept switching models while retention stayed low, and only the smallest retailers (turnover under INR 50,000 a month) sourced via Anar.

Shut down in November 2023 and returned remaining capital to investors.

Retention stayed low through every model switch in 2023, so marketplace liquidity never compounded.

B2B networks are small and tight by nature; a tech platform's scale destroys the insider value on prices, suppliers and market data that makes them work.

Offline B2B markets were already efficient, and big retailers were reluctant to source online and needed credit the platform could not offer.

The team overhired in the pre-PMF stage, which divided context and limited the agility needed to keep changing the model.

If incumbents already solve the job and networks are small and tight, a platform's scale advantage never arrives — test willingness to pay before the model runs out of runway.

Anar returned remaining capital to investors and joined 2023's wave of Indian startup shutdowns alongside Pillow and Vah Vah!. Jain said he wanted to work on 'super-large problems' and hinted at a new AI venture that would 'hit it out of the fences'.