Praan: Making Clean Air Accessible to All

The right to breathe clean air is a distant dream in many parts of the world—a pollution crisis that is global and depleted air quality that causes illness and reduces the human potential.

But what if there was a novel technology to capture greenhouse gases and tackle pollution. Praan—a Scale-Up portfolio company is working on just that—innovative clean air solutions. 

The founder, Angad Daryani, suffered from asthma while growing up. This personal connect backed with a strong resolve to address the pressing urban air quality crisis led him to establishing Praan—the seeds of which were sown in his sophomore years. 

Revolutionising Clean Air 

Despite technological advancements, the alarming threat of air pollution is inescapable. Each year, atmospheric pollution causes an estimated $2.9 trillion hit to the global economy, 1.2 billion loss in work days, 4% reduction in global food production and over 7 million premature deaths. The list is endless.  

To address this, Praan proposes a unique solution of rebuilding the atmosphere. Through its advanced, filter-less air purification technology, it seeks to remove dust and particulate matter from the surrounding area and offers clean, breathable air. Boasting a high purification rate of 1,300 cubic feet per minute and providing real-time air quality insights all at minimal maintenance, its flagship product MK-II is value for investment. It is also a cost-saver, offering almost 70% savings as compared to traditional filter-based alternatives. 

Over the years, Praan has garnered significant commercial and industrial goodwill, receiving backing from key global investors such as Social Impact Capital, Better Capital, Paradigm Shift Capital and Avaana Capital, among others. It also caters to a growing domestic market for air-purification solutions for smaller spaces.

Tailored Mentorship for Unique Challenges

In December 2023, Praan was inducted into Scale-Up, MIF’s no-equity accelerator programme aimed at mentoring startups, helping them scale as well as address, review, and resolve the unique challenges they face. The tailored mentorship has been instrumental for startups like Praan to find their footing in the complex area of mitigating air pollution woes— essentially challenges that need a nuanced, expert approach and formative solutions. 

At Scale Up, Praan identified that one of its primary hurdles was driving up sales in a market for air-purification systems, which is equal parts niche and competitive. This included strengthening sales strategy, steering sales pipeline and accelerating its B2B sales processes.

Ajit Panicker, a B2B Sales & Strategy expert at MIF, understood Praan’s challenges and co-designed effective strategies that helped the startup optimise its sales, like: 

• Refining sales strategy by establishing key verticals for inside sales, lead generation, and conversion
• Targeted WhatsApp campaigns to generate leads for HIVE, Praan’s air purification solutions for indoors in spaces like homes and schools. 
• Strategising marketing brochure for better communication of value proposition and customer engagement
• Conducting pilots at reduced costs with large conglomerates to increase endorsements
• Facilitating Praan’s participation at the Refrigeration & Air-Conditioning Traders Association Conclave to boost brand visibility, which generated 50+ industry connections with active opportunities for follow-up.
• Introduction of Trello for enhanced task management and productivity

While the first set of challenges has been successfully addressed, enhancing capabilities is a work in progress. As of January 2025, Praan remains an active participant in MIF’s Scale-Up venture.

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Read more about Scale-Up, MIF’s no-equity accelerator for innovative startups addressing India’s most urgent challenges.