Keychain, a New York-based startup revolutionizing the consumer packaged goods (CPG) industry, has secured $30 million in Series B funding to fuel its ambitious growth plans. The funding round, led by Wellington Management and existing investor BoxGroup, brings the company’s total capital raised to $68 million since its launch in 2023. With its AI-powered platform connecting brands, retailers, and manufacturers, Keychain is poised to transform the $2 trillion CPG market by streamlining supply chains and accelerating product development. This article explores Keychain’s innovative approach, its strategic decision to build its engineering hub in Gurugram, India, and its plans for U.S. and global expansion.
The Rise of Keychain: A Game-Changer in CPG Manufacturing
What is Keychain?
Founded in 2023 by tech veterans Oisin Hanrahan, Umang Dua, and Jordan Weitz, Keychain is an AI-powered platform designed to simplify the complex process of CPG manufacturing. The platform connects over 30,000 manufacturers with more than 20,000 brands and retailers, facilitating over $1 billion in manufacturing projects monthly. By leveraging artificial intelligence, Keychain enables brands to find the perfect manufacturing partners in minutes, a process that traditionally took weeks or months. The platform supports major players like General Mills, Hershey, and Whole Foods, as well as startups launching innovative products in food, beverage, beauty, and personal care.
The Problem Keychain Solves
The CPG industry, valued at over $2 trillion, has long been plagued by inefficiencies. Traditional methods of finding manufacturing partners involve trade shows, brokers, and time-consuming manual vetting processes. These outdated approaches create significant friction, delaying product launches and stifling innovation. Keychain addresses this challenge by digitizing the supply chain, using AI to match brands with manufacturers based on specific product requirements, certifications, and locations. The platform’s proprietary technology analyzes product data, packaging needs, and manufacturing capabilities to deliver precise matches, reducing timelines and costs.
KeychainOS: The Future of CPG Manufacturing
In tandem with its Series B announcement, Keychain unveiled KeychainOS, an AI-native operating system designed to streamline every aspect of CPG manufacturing. Unlike traditional enterprise resource planning (ERP) tools, KeychainOS integrates AI-driven workflows, offering features like real-time collaboration, instant costing insights, and adaptive checklists. This system empowers manufacturers to manage operations more efficiently while enabling brands to bring products to market faster. KeychainOS is set to redefine the industry by providing a unified ecosystem that supports the entire product development journey, from concept to shelf.
Strategic Expansion: Building in India, Growing in the U.S.
Why India?
Keychain’s decision to establish its primary engineering hub in Gurugram, India, is a strategic move driven by the region’s unparalleled tech talent pool. Despite having no customers in India, the company has built its entire development team in Gurugram, the country’s second-largest tech hub after Bengaluru. Co-founder and CEO Oisin Hanrahan highlights the depth, availability, and speed of accessing talent in India as key factors. With experience from their previous venture, Handy (acquired by Angi for $164 million), Hanrahan and Dua recognized India’s potential to support a sustainable, scalable engineering organization with deep AI expertise.
Gurugram’s growing reputation as a global technology hub aligns with Keychain’s vision. The city hosts numerous multinational companies and startups, making it an ideal location for product development and R&D. By tapping into India’s tech ecosystem, Keychain can accelerate its platform’s evolution while keeping costs competitive, a critical advantage for a startup scaling rapidly in a competitive market.
U.S. and Global Ambitions
While Keychain’s engineering operations are based in India, its business focus remains on the U.S. and, increasingly, global markets. The company currently serves eight of the top 10 retailers, including 7-Eleven and Whole Foods, and seven of the top CPG brands, such as General Mills. With the new funding, Keychain plans to deepen its U.S. presence by expanding into new verticals like beauty and personal care, where its platform now supports over 250,000 productsvalued at more than $100 billion. Additionally, the company is eyeing international expansion, with Europe as a key target. A recent $5 million investment from Bright Pixel Capital in February 2025 is supporting Keychain’s adaptation to EU regulations on sustainability and traceability.
The $30M Series B Funding: Fueling Growth and Innovation
Funding Details
The $30 million Series B round, announced on August 19, 2025, was led by Wellington Management, with participation from existing investors BoxGroup, Lightspeed Venture Partners, and SV Angel. This follows a $15 million Series A in November 2024 and an $18 million seed round in 2023, bringing Keychain’s total funding to $68 million. The company’s post-money valuation in its Series A was $260 million, and while the current valuation remains undisclosed, Hanrahan noted it was a “good step up.” With over $50 million still in the bank, Keychain is well-positioned to execute its growth strategy.
How the Funds Will Be Used
Keychain plans to allocate the new capital to several key areas:
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Advancing KeychainOS: Enhancing the AI operating system to offer more robust features for manufacturers and brands.
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Expanding Vertical Coverage: Moving beyond food and beverage to include beauty, personal care, and other CPG categories.
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Hiring Talent: Growing the partnership and customer success teams to support the increasing number of manufacturers and brands on the platform.
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International Expansion: Strengthening its presence in the U.S. and entering new markets like Europe.
David Tisch, managing partner at BoxGroup, emphasized Keychain’s potential to shape global CPG trade, noting its appeal to sovereign funds, commodity exchanges, and certification agencies. This broad stakeholder interest underscores the platform’s strategic importance in transforming the global supply chain.
Industry Impact and Competitive Landscape
Transforming the CPG Industry
Keychain’s platform addresses critical pain points in the CPG industry, including labor shortages, volatile demand, and rising raw material costs. By bringing transparency to manufacturing capabilities and costs, Keychain enables brands to innovate rapidly while maintaining quality. For example, its AI can analyze product descriptions to determine the exact equipment needed for manufacturing, allowing brands to filter manufacturers by certification or location. This predictive power minimizes waste and accelerates product development, a significant advantage in a market where consumer trends evolve quickly.
General Mills, a key investor and user of the platform, has praised Keychain for shortening manufacturing timelines and complementing its digital transformation efforts. Paul Gallagher, General Mills’ chief supply chain officer, noted, “We’re investing in Keychain because of the efficiencies it can enable for us, its significant potential impact on the future of food, and their approach to collaboration.”
Competitive Challenges
Despite its rapid growth, Keychain faces competition from established players like SAP and Oracle, which are enhancing their own AI-driven supply chain solutions. However, Keychain’s niche focus on the CPG sector and its ability to serve mid-sized manufacturers give it a competitive edge. Critics have raised concerns about data privacy and potential algorithmic biases in partner recommendations, but Keychain’s founders emphasize their commitment to human oversight and vetted data sources to mitigate these risks.
Why Keychain’s Model Works
Keychain operates on a usage-based SaaS model, allowing manufacturers and brands to pay based on their platform usage and feature needs. This flexible pricing structure makes the platform accessible to both global giants like Hersheyand emerging startups. By digitizing an industry that previously relied on offline processes, Keychain is unlocking innovation and enabling brands to create healthier, more sustainable products. Its network effects—connecting brands, manufacturers, packaging companies, and raw material suppliers—create a self-reinforcing ecosystem that drives efficiency and growth.
Looking Ahead: Keychain’s Vision for 2025 and Beyond
In the next six months, Keychain aims to roll out KeychainOS at scale, positioning itself as the leading AI operating system for CPG manufacturers. The company is also focused on expanding its platform to cover additional CPG verticals and geographies, with Europe as a priority. By continuing to leverage India’s tech talent and its robust AI capabilities, Keychain is well-equipped to disrupt the global CPG industry and deliver value to its growing network of partners.
Keychain’s $30 million Series B funding marks a pivotal moment for the CPG industry. By combining cutting-edge AI technology with a strategic engineering hub in India, Keychain is redefining how brands and manufacturers collaborate to bring products to market. With strong backing from investors like Wellington Management and BoxGroup, and endorsements from industry leaders like General Mills, Keychain is poised for exponential growth. As it expands into new verticals and markets, Keychain is not just a platform—it’s a transformative force in the $2 trillion CPG industry, driving innovation, transparency, and efficiency.
