Mumbai Dosa Chain Benne in Talks With Ranjan Pai’s Family Office to Raise Rs 40 Crore

Mumbai-based dosa chain Benne is in talks with Claypond Capital, the family office of billionaire investor Ranjan Pai, to raise capital of Rs 35–40 crore, Moneycontrol reported.

The investment is being sought at a valuation of Rs 350 crore, that is, Claypond Capital may buy a 10 percent stake in the Mumbai-based company.

Since the talks are at a nascent stage, the valuation and the investment amount may change in the future.

“Benne is being valued at Rs 350 crore during the ongoing negotiations with Claypond. The round is still being constructed and it is likely the contours of the deal change slightly over the coming weeks,” the report quotes a source as saying.

Keeping in mind that the dosa chain business is just two years old, the Rs 350 crore valuation is being considered steep.

Benne mainly offers South Indian dishes like dosa and idli. The Rameshwaram Cafe, popular for its dosa, and Nikhil Kamath-backed Cafe Amudham are among its competitors.

This is Claypond Capital’s first bet in the food and beverage (F&B) space. The firm is known for investing in companies like Akasa Air in aviation and Zepto in last-mile delivery.

Benne was founded in 2024 by husband-wife duo Akhil Iyer and Shriya Narayan. While Iyer is a film producer, Narayan is a psychologist.

The restaurant has garnered attention as celebrities like Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh, and Virat Kohli and Anushka Sharma, have regularly visited the place.

Benne has earlier raised funding from early-stage venture capital firm Peercheque. The restaurant is among the growing clout of F&B companies raising funding from family offices and other high net worth individuals (HNIs).

Cafe Amudham has raised Rs 5 crore from Zerodha co-founder Nikhil Kamath, while quick-service restaurant (QSR) chain Subway has sold a 5 percent stake to Playbook Partners for about Rs 130–150 crore in a deal that valued the sandwich maker at around Rs 2,600–2,900 crore.