New Delhi, March 17 -- Early-stage investment platform Venture Catalysts has fully exited Gurugram-headquartered women's hygiene brand Pee Safe, following a recent funding round led by healthcare-focused private equity firm OrbiMed.

Venture Catalysts completed the exit in January through the secondary component of Pee Safe's $32 million (around Rs 296 crore) fundraise, which provided liquidity to early backers of the firm.

The early-stage firm claimed that it generated a 9.6x return and an internal rate of return of 30.53% from the exit. It said that it had first invested in Pee Safe in 2017, backing the company when it was still building out its product and distribution strategy in a relatively underpenetrated segment.

Investors in India typically target returns of around 25-30% IRR on successful exits. This means that outcomes like this meet or exceed the return expectations most funds set for their portfolios.

"This exit is a validation of patient early-stage investing where we back founders before the market agrees. Pee Safe built category depth, distribution muscle, and brand trust," said Apoorva Sharma, founder, Venture Catalysts.

The latest round took Pee Safe's total funding to $45.55 million. Existing investors such as Zerodha and Natco Pharma remain on the cap table.

Other than Venture Catalysts, healthcare-focused venture capital firm Alkemi Growth Capital offloaded a majority of its stake through the secondary transaction, VCCircle had reported earlier.

Founded in 2017 by Vikas Bagaria and Rithish Kumar, Pee Safe sells products across toilet hygiene, feminine and intimate care, personal care, grooming, and wellness. The company operates in India and 23 other countries, with a network of over 50,000 offline retail outlets across 100+ cities, along with a presence on quick commerce and e-commerce platforms.

Pee Safe has since expanded into a broader personal hygiene and wellness portfolio, scaling its presence across more than 50,000 offline retail outlets in over 100 cities, alongside online and quick commerce channels. The company has grown at an annual rate of around 45-50% over the past two years.

Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from VC Circle.