Tan90 (Tan90 Thermal Solutions Private Limited) is a Chennai-based Indian deeptech startup founded in 2019 that makes phase change material based thermal products and offers Cooling-as-a-Service for cold chains.

This Startup Deep Dive explains what Tan90 does, how it makes money, who backs it, how it compares with rivals and what could go wrong, using publicly available information. It is educational and not investment advice. Last updated: October 2026.

Tan90 in Brief

• What it is: Tan90 is an Indian Thermal management and cold chain (phase change materials) company based in Chennai.
• Who it serves: businesses, institutions, consumers, learners and public-sector buyers.
• Develops in-house inorganic Phase Change Materials said to work from minus 50 to plus 80 degrees Celsius
• Offers Cooling-as-a-Service, reported active in eight Indian cities with zero customer churn (company claim)
• Targets cold chains, HVAC, data centres, EV thermal management, food and pharma
• Funding: About $4.3 million to $4.6 million before and including Series A (reports differ); one aggregator says $6.94 million.

Tan90 Quick Facts

Figures marked “reported” come from published reports and may differ between sources; “Not disclosed” means no reliable public figure was found.

What Is Tan90?

Tan90 operates in the Thermal management and cold chain (phase change materials) space in India. Understanding a company like this starts with three questions: who is the customer, what painful problem is being solved, and why the solution is better than the alternatives. The sections below apply that lens to Tan90.

• Develops in-house inorganic Phase Change Materials said to work from minus 50 to plus 80 degrees Celsius
• Offers Cooling-as-a-Service, reported active in eight Indian cities with zero customer churn (company claim)
• Targets cold chains, HVAC, data centres, EV thermal management, food and pharma
• Makes portable cold storage and smart cold containers for temperature-controlled transport

The Origin Story of Tan90

Every company starts from a noticed gap and a team willing to commit to closing it. Strong origin stories are specific: a clear problem, a founding team with relevant skills, and an early product that real customers could test. Founder-market fit, meaning the team’s lived experience or technical depth in the domain, tends to predict how fast a young company learns.

• Founders: Soumalya Mukherjee, Rajnikant Rai, Shiv Sharma.
• Co-founded in 2019 by Soumalya Mukherjee, Rajnikant Rai and Shiv Sharma
• Based in Chennai, Tamil Nadu
• Earlier backed by Social Alpha and others

Key Milestones and Challenges

No startup grows in a straight line. Early years usually involve slow adoption, product rewrites, hiring mistakes and funding gaps. In the Thermal management and cold chain (phase change materials) sector the common turning points are a first paying customer, a regulatory approval, a successful product demonstration or a funding round that lets the team invest ahead of demand. How a team responds to setbacks says more about resilience than any single headline.

• 2019: Founded
• 2022: Early round of about $653K per one aggregator
• May 2023: Pre-Series A of about Rs 11.3 crore ($1.37 million) co-led by Blue Ashva Capital and Capital A, with 3i Partners
• FY24: revenue Rs 12.8 crore
• May 2025: Series A of Rs 20 crore led by NABVENTURES
• FY25: revenue Rs 26.7 crore

Tan90 Funding and Investors

Funding history shows how much outside confidence a company has attracted and how long it can operate before needing more capital. Figures below are reported and may differ between sources; valuation figures are estimates unless the company has confirmed them.

• 2022: Early round of about $653K (aggregator)
• May 2023: Pre-Series A, about Rs 11.3 crore ($1.37 million), Blue Ashva Capital and Capital A co-led, 3i Partners participated
• May 2025: Series A, Rs 20 crore ($2.35 million), NABVENTURES lead with Blue Ashva Capital, Capital-A and 3i Partners
• Earlier raised about $4.6 million from Social Alpha and others (per Entrackr)

How Does Tan90 Make Money? (Business Model)

A business model describes who pays, how often and how much it costs to serve them. Strong models show repeat usage, improving margins with scale and acquisition channels that do not depend only on paid spend. Weak models show one-off sales, rising costs and growth that stops when spending stops. For companies selling to businesses, institutions, consumers, learners and public-sector buyers, sales cycles and contract size matter as much as headline growth.

• Sells PCM-based products and passive cold storage
• Subscription-based Cooling-as-a-Service for customers needing temperature-controlled transport and storage
• Company claims revenue CAGR above 70% over three years

The Numbers: Tan90 Financials

Financial figures show whether growth is turning into a self-sustaining business. Small and private companies often disclose little, so any number below is included only if it was found in public reporting.

• FY23: revenue about Rs 8.3 crore, loss Rs 92.88 lakh
• FY24: revenue about Rs 12.8 crore (up 54.5%), net loss Rs 6.68 crore
• FY25: revenue Rs 26.7 crore (up 108.3%), total expenses Rs 32.0 crore, net loss Rs 5.3 crore, estimated EBITDA minus Rs 4.0 crore, total assets Rs 17.5 crore
• Employees: 49 per one aggregator

Market Opportunity for Tan90

Market size is easy to exaggerate, so a useful approach separates the total market from the portion a company can realistically reach with its current product and distribution. The main forces behind demand in this sector are rising digital adoption, cloud and mobile penetration, growing enterprise technology spending, government digitisation programmes and a deep pool of engineering talent. Each of these widens the opportunity, but capital efficiency and execution decide who captures it.

• Cold chain, HVAC, data centre and EV thermal management markets in India with planned expansion to Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Africa

Technology and Product at Tan90

Technology is rarely the whole moat, but it drives speed, cost and customer experience. A practical way to assess it is to separate the capability the company controls from the commodity infrastructure it rents. In this sector the important factors are product quality, data and integration depth, security, scalability and the speed of shipping improvements.

• Proprietary inorganic phase change materials
• Passive thermal management products and Cooling-as-a-Service model

Team and Culture at Tan90

Teams are the most important and least measurable asset of a young company. Look at how complementary the founders’ skills are, how deep the second layer of leadership is, and how the company hires and retains specialists. Culture shows up in small repeated behaviours: how quickly bad news travels upward and whether commitments to customers are kept.

• Soumalya Mukherjee, co-founder
• Rajnikant Rai, co-founder
• Shiv Sharma, co-founder
• 49 employees per one aggregator

Tan90 Competitors: Competitive Landscape

A fair competitive analysis names direct rivals, adjacent players who could move into the space, and the customer’s default alternative. Durable advantages include proprietary data or technology, licences and approvals, brand trust, switching costs and cost leadership.

Risks and Challenges for Tan90

• Persistent net losses
• Relatively small revenue base
• Revenue figures rely on aggregator data
• Competition in cold chain and thermal products
• Competition: low barriers to entry and well-funded rivals can compress pricing and slow growth.
• Funding risk: technology businesses often burn cash before reaching profit and depend on investor appetite.

Risk is not a reason to avoid a company; it is a reason to price it correctly and to monitor the right indicators over time. Regulation in this sector is shaped by data protection rules under the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, sector regulators, consumer protection law and IT rules.

Tan90 Growth Outlook: What to Watch

• Funds earmarked for new product lines in cold chains, HVAC and data centres
• Plans to expand in Southeast Asia, Middle East and Africa while scaling across India
• Key indicators: recurring revenue, customer retention, gross margin, customer acquisition cost and runway.
• Funding position: Whether Tan90 can reach its next milestone before needing new capital.
• Regulation: Changes from data protection rules under the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, sector regulators, consumer protection law and IT rules.

Industry Context: Where Tan90 Fits

India's technology startup ecosystem is one of the largest in the world, supported by cheap data, a large base of smartphone users, digital public infrastructure and a deep engineering talent pool. Companies now build for education, software, mobility, logistics, agriculture, defence, media and more, selling both to Indian customers and abroad.

Durable technology companies usually combine a clear customer problem with repeatable distribution and disciplined unit economics. Growth funded only by spending tends to fade, while products that customers keep using and paying for build compounding advantages.

For readers new to this field, a useful habit is to separate announcements from evidence. A plan, a partnership or a funding headline describes intent, while a delivered product, a paying customer or an audited financial statement describes results. Comparing the two over time shows how reliably a company turns promises into outcomes.

Bull Case and Bear Case for Tan90

An investment thesis is a short, testable statement of why a company could become far more valuable, together with what evidence would prove it wrong. The points below are general to this sector and are not forecasts for Tan90.

Bull case

• A large and growing base of digital users and businesses expands the addressable market.
• Recurring revenue and strong retention can compound growth.
• Selling into global markets widens the opportunity beyond India.

Bear case

• Heavy competition can compress pricing and margins.
• Dependence on external funding can force painful cost cuts.
• Regulation or platform changes can disrupt a product quickly.

Lessons Founders and Investors Can Take from Tan90

Studying a company in the Thermal management and cold chain (phase change materials) space offers lessons that go beyond any single firm. The points below are general lessons for the sector and are not claims about Tan90.

• Solving a clear, frequent customer problem matters more than adding features.
• Retention and repeat usage are better health signals than sign-ups.
• Disciplined spending extends runway and keeps options open when funding tightens.
• Distribution, not just product quality, decides who wins in crowded markets.
• Building trust through data protection and reliability is part of the product.

How to Evaluate Tan90 as a Startup

• Customer clarity: Can Tan90 name its customer and the problem it solves in one sentence?
• Evidence of demand: Look for repeat customers, signed contracts or measurable usage rather than announcements alone.
• Economics: Check whether margins improve as volume grows.
• Execution: Compare announced timelines with what has actually been delivered.
• Funding runway: Estimate how long current capital lasts at the present spending rate.
• Regulatory standing: Confirm required approvals are in place.
• Customer concentration: Check whether a few customers account for most of the revenue.
• Management depth: Look for experienced leaders beyond the founders and a stable core team.

The Takeaway

Tan90 is part of India’s growing Thermal management and cold chain (phase change materials) ecosystem. The useful lesson from studying it is the discipline of asking structured questions about customers, economics, advantage and resilience. Companies that answer them well, repeatedly and under pressure are the ones that endure. Readers should treat any single report, ranking or funding headline as one input among many, and should re-check key facts against recent company announcements. Because public information on young companies is often limited, patience in verifying claims is part of good analysis. Public sources can also describe the same company in different ways, so it is worth checking dates, definitions and whether a figure refers to revenue, total income or transaction value, and whether it covers one entity or a wider group, before drawing conclusions. Small differences in rounding, currency conversion or reporting periods can also change how a figure reads. Comparing the same figure across several recent reports helps show whether it is stable or has changed over time. This article is educational and is not investment advice.

• Clear customers and repeat demand matter more than announcements.
• Regulation and capital needs shape how fast a startup in this sector can grow.
• Track a few leading indicators over time rather than one headline metric.

Tan90 FAQs: Frequently Asked Questions

What is Tan90?

Tan90 (Tan90 Thermal Solutions Private Limited) is a Chennai-based Indian deeptech startup founded in 2019 that makes phase change material based thermal products and offers Cooling-as-a-Service for cold chains. It is profiled in the Startup Deep Dive series, which explains business model, funding, competitors and risks.

Who founded Tan90?

Tan90 was founded by Soumalya Mukherjee, Rajnikant Rai, Shiv Sharma, and the company reports a founding year of 2019.

How much funding has Tan90 raised?

About $4.3 million to $4.6 million before and including Series A (reports differ); one aggregator says $6.94 million. Funding figures are reported and may differ between sources, so readers should check the latest company announcements.

How does Tan90 make money?

Tan90 earns revenue from its Thermal management and cold chain (phase change materials) products and services sold to businesses, institutions, consumers, learners and public-sector buyers. The exact revenue mix is described in the business model section and is not fully disclosed publicly.

Who are the competitors of Tan90?

Reported rivals include Coldway, Artyc, Indafre. See the competitor comparison above for how they differ.

What are the main risks for Tan90?

Main risks include competition: low barriers to entry and well-funded rivals can compress pricing and slow growth, funding and capital needs, competition and regulation by data protection rules under the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, sector regulators, consumer protection law and IT rules. This is educational content, not investment advice.

Related Startup Deep Dives: Instoried — FY24 revenue fell to Rs 11.8 lakh from Rs 4.6 crore in FY22, with a net loss of about Rs 1.1 crore | YourStory — Raised $6 million in Sept 2017 led by UC-RNT, Kalaari Capital, 3one4 Capital and Qualcomm Ventures. Browse the full Startup Deep Dive series.

Source

Source: Publicly available data, published reports, industry research, and other credible sources.