Urban Ladder Cofounder's AC Startup Optimist Raises $12 Mn

Ashish Goel, cofounder and former CEO of Urban Ladder, has started a new venture in the cooling space. His manufacturing startup, Optimist, has raised $12 Mn in its seed and pre-Series A funding round led by Accel and Arkam Ventures, with participation from angel investors.

Founded in 2024 by Goel, along with Pranav Chopra, Optimist is building air conditioners (ACs) designed specifically for Indian conditions, where rising temperatures, high humidity, and expensive electricity make cooling critical and costly.

The startup plans to use the fresh capital to scale manufacturing, deepen research and development, and prepare for a market launch.

Goel said the idea for Optimist came from a simple question: how prepared is India for rising heat stress?

“Heat levels are going up every year, and the country is not ready for it,” he told Inc42. “When we were growing up, coolers worked for most of the year. Today, they fail badly. ACs that are available are not designed for India’s heat, homes, or power conditions.”

According to Goel, during field studies conducted in cities such as Delhi, Jaipur, Agra, and Hyderabad, Optimist’s team found that 25-32% of ACs stop cooling effectively during peak summer days. “When an AC doesn’t cool on the hottest day, you’re stuck. That’s when the product has failed you,” he said.

How Optimist Plans To Redesign ACs

Optimist’s starting point, Goel said, was the low penetration of ACs in India. According to him, out of more than 300 Mn households, only around 27–28 Mn own an AC, even though nearly 90% of households live in heat-affected regions. “As a business, it’s a large opportunity. As a consumer-focused technologist, it’s a problem that clearly needs solving,” he said.

The startup believes the core issue lies in product design. Most ACs sold in India are designed for milder climates and adapted locally, rather than being built ground-up for Indian conditions.

“Cooling in India cannot be solved with products designed for other markets,” Goel said. “They are not built to handle the heat levels we will see over the next five or 10 years.”

Optimist operates an in-house R&D lab in Gurugram where its team spent months over the past year studying thermodynamics, heat transfer, humidity control, and airflow optimisation.

Optimist is working to improve two aspects of cooling: how much heat an air conditioner can remove from a room, and how efficiently it transfers that heat outside using less electricity. The startup is focusing on better control of temperature, humidity, and air circulation to deliver comfort without excessive power use.

“Humidity itself is a form of heat,” Goel said. “Most ACs over-dehumidify, which wastes energy. There is a big opportunity to optimise here.”

The startup is also working on improving air circulation and using natural heat stratification to reduce “unnecessary” cooling.

“Our goal is very simple for the first year,” Goel said. “Every customer should be comfortable, even on the hottest day. Their electricity bill should be the lowest in the market. And if there is any issue, it should be resolved quickly.”

The startup claims its products will deliver higher peak cooling capacity than typical five-star rated ACs, while being more energy efficient.

Optimist plans to go to market in February 2026, starting with digital sales and exclusive brand stores. The first stores are expected to open in NCR, with initial focus on high-heat regions such as Delhi NCR, Rajasthan, and Hyderabad, followed by Bengaluru. The stores will be used mainly to explain the product and build trust with customers.

Edited by Vinaykumar Rai

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