New Delhi: Indian Walker, India’s carry-first streetwear brand, has raised a pre-seed round at a post-money valuation of INR 20 crore from Palette Wealth Management (PWM). The company is part of the CoFounder Circle (CFC) Venture Studio, a consumer venture studio founded by entrepreneur Darpan Sanghvi. The fundraise marks the company’s first round of growth capital and comes as Indian Walker prepares for its next phase of expansion.
Streetwear has changed what young India wears, from sneakers to tees. But the bag on its back hasn’t caught up. Indian Walker is built to close that gap: street-first in design, tested on Indian roads, and priced for the generation that’s moving up.
When Md. Sakib lost his job during Covid, he became a Rapido captain on Delhi’s roads to make ends meet. His bag went everywhere he did: monsoon rides, the pillion seat, packed metro coaches. The bags that survived those days looked like nothing a young Indian wanted to be seen with; the ones that looked good were built for airport lounges and priced out of reach for anyone still working their way up. In July 2025, he founded Indian Walker to make the bag he couldn’t find.
The company will deploy a significant portion of the funds towards inventory, while also expanding its core categories and adding new SKUs to its Level Up collection. The capital will further be used to build the company’s core team across marketing, social and operations. Over the next 24 months, Indian Walker is targeting ₹100 crore in ARR and aims to build a community of more than 1 lakh customers.
Indian Walker makes mid-premium streetwear carry for young Indian consumers, with its core backpacks priced between ₹2,000 and ₹4,000. Its best-selling Level Up collection, led by the Stride backpack, has sold more than 10,000 units since its launch in July 2025. The brand currently sells through its D2C website and will launch on Amazon, Flipkart and Myntra in the next quarter, followed by quick-commerce and other marketplace channels.
Commenting on the fundraise, Md. Sakib, Founder & CEO, Indian Walker, said, “I didn’t start Indian Walker in a boardroom. I started it on Delhi’s roads, with my whole day on my back. Streetwear gave my generation sneakers and tees that said who we are, but nobody made the bag. That’s what we’re building. MOVE UP means you start where you are and you keep going. This round lets us build more of those bags, keep them in stock and put the right team behind them.”
Kuldeep Sikawar, Founder, Palette Wealth Management, said, “What drew us to Indian Walker was how clearly Sakib had spotted something the market had overlooked: everyday carry in India sat at two extremes, either generic and mass-produced or premium and unreachable for most young buyers, with nothing serious built for streetwear in between. What gave us conviction was the execution. Sakib runs the business with real discipline on product quality and unit economics, and demand has been running ahead of inventory. This round puts capital exactly where the business needs it.”
Pavan Guntupalli, Co-founder, Rapido, said, “Sakib’s journey from being a Rapido captain to building and raising capital for his own consumer brand is a testament to what is possible when someone is willing to learn, take risks and keep building. What stands out is how he has turned experiences from different stages of his life into insights that have shaped the business he is building today. It is always particularly fulfilling to see someone who has been a part of your own journey go on to build something of their own. Indian Walker is an exciting next step for Sakib, and I am genuinely happy to see him and the team reach this milestone.”
At the heart of Indian Walker is MOVE UP, a philosophy that reflects both the founder’s personal journey and the mindset of the generation the brand is built for. Sakib’s path from being a Rapido captain to building Indian Walker embodies the idea of starting from where you are and continually moving forward. For the brand, MOVE UP is about the everyday hustle, ambition and pursuit of the next version of yourself, and about carrying that journey with you wherever you go. Sakib is the first proof of MOVE UP; everyone who carries an Indian Walker bag is the next.
With its first growth capital in place, Indian Walker will focus on deepening its product categories, expanding distribution and building its consumer community. The company sees an opportunity to grow carry into a profitable ₹1,000-crore business.