Souvik Sengupta: Building The Amazon of Construction

Inefficiencies have long plagued the construction materials industry, but Souvik Sengupta saw an opportunity to change that. As the co-founder of Infra.Market, he’s flipped the script on B2B construction procurement, turning his startup into a unicorn in record time. 

But his journey wasn’t a straight shot to success. Coming from a finance and corporate governance background, he brought a sharp eye for strategy and a deep understanding of the industry. Of course, rapid growth comes with its fair share of challenges. Infra.Market hasn’t been immune to scrutiny, especially over its financial practices.

This StartupTalky article explores Souvik Gupta's success story, including his early life, history, childhood, personal life, education, investments, controversies, and more.

Souvik Sengupta - Biography

Souvik Sengupta - Early Life and Education
Souvik Sengupta - Career
Souvik Sengupta - Personal Life
Souvik Sengupta - Investments
Souvik Sengupta - Controversies

Souvik Sengupta - Early Life and Education

Souvik Sengupta grew up in Kolkata, a city celebrated for its deep cultural traditions and academic excellence. His education took place primarily in Kolkata, though his father moved frequently between cities due to work requirements. Souvik finished his ICSE education at St. James’ School between 1995 and 2001.

In his early life, Souvik avoided pursuing entrepreneurship as a career choice. The local business culture of his environment treated entrepreneurship as a family inheritance rather than a fresh creation. Moreover, the dominant business culture of Kolkata during that time promoted steady salaried jobs instead of startup initiatives and featured minimal startup success stories.

His perspective on business changed completely after settling in Mumbai after graduating in 2001. The business environment in Mumbai exposed him to an aggressive approach based on networking, financial proficiency, and strategic planning for success.

Souvik completed his undergraduate studies at Sydenham College of Commerce and Economics. His education continued with CA qualifications from ICAI. Furthermore, this provided him with advanced financial management, taxation, and auditing expertise. His academic pursuit at The Institute of Company Secretaries of India allowed him to expand his corporate governance and legal structures expertise.

List of 118 Unicorn Startups in India | Top Unicorns in India

India has already seen 118 unicorn startups. Here’s an exhaustive list of all unicorn companies in India, including those that joined the unicorn club in 2025.

StartupTalkyAnik Banerjee

Souvik Sengupta - Career

From 2009 to 2014, he worked in infrastructure and manufacturing, which gave him extensive knowledge about supply chain and operational inefficiencies. However, his commercial and financial roles did not provide enough fulfillment, so he began seeking a more meaningful professional direction.

After obtaining his management education from the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Bangalore, Souvik recognized the market's fundamental problem in construction materials, which stemmed from broken supply chain processes. The discovery of this market need resulted in the launch of Infra.Market in 2016. Moreover, the company was set to transform B2B construction material procurement operations. Infra.Market operates as the "Amazon of Construction" by linking contract manufacturers with their unused production capacity to sell branded construction materials, concrete products, and chemicals directly to infrastructure companies and retail outlets.

He rapidly grew the company, establishing the startup as a unicorn. Furthermore, he secured major investments from international venture capitalists while expanding operations across multiple continents. Souvik introduced AI supply chain technology to construction firms to improve procurement processes and reduce costs.

Souvik has used his influence to expand his reach into several startups and industry ventures beyond Infra.Market.

• The company Ivas.Homes was launched in 2024 and operates in the real estate sector modernization field.
• Equiphunt (2021 - Present) establishes a technology-based platform that streamlines equipment procurement processes.
• Chemical.Market (2021 - Present) specialized B2B marketplace for industrial chemicals.
• INICIO (2024 - Present): A full-time startup initiative exploring new business frontiers.

He serves as a director on the boards of various leading companies operating in the construction, paints, tiles, and consumer goods sector, which include:

• RDC Concrete (India) Ltd (2021 - Present)
• Shalimar Paints (2022 - Present)
• Emcer Tiles Pvt Ltd established its operations in 2024 and continues to operate until the present day.
• Millennium Tiles (2025 - Present)
• Amstrad Consumer India Pvt Ltd (2025 - Present)
• Ultrafine Mineral & Admixtures Pvt Ltd (2021 - Present)
• CEF Group (2024 - Present)

By strategically diversifying his portfolio, Souvik has built a network of interconnected businesses catering to real estate, construction, chemicals, and consumer goods. His ventures emphasize efficiency, cost optimization, and digital transformation, reinforcing his position as a pioneering entrepreneur reshaping India’s infrastructure landscape.

Infra.Market Success Story - | Founders | Business Model | Funding | Revenue |

Infra.Market is a startup that provides construction materials. Learn more about Infra.Market’s founders, business model, funding, shareholding, growth, future plans, and more.

StartupTalkyShalini Rath

Souvik Sengupta - Personal Life

Sengupta grew up in Kolkata, which has a well-known literary legacy. He built a strong bond with books, and Satyajit Ray's Feluda series and other works profoundly affected him. The city's library culture formed the basis of his reading preferences, which developed into an enduring love of literature.

He stands apart from typical business leaders who read books to improve their leadership abilities because he reveals his dislike for these materials. According to him, business lessons should derive from real-world experience and boardroom discussions rather than from books, so he prefers reading fiction classics and comics. His book collection contains many works by P.G. Wodehouse because the author's humorous writing allows him to relax after his demanding responsibilities.

Souvik Sengupta - Investments

Through high-growth startup investments, Souvik Sengupta has shown a strong interest in developing business models and scalable market opportunities. His individual/angel investor and investment partner role includes technology-driven businesses focusing on B2B and consumer sectors.

Personal Investments

Souvik Sengupta supported Captain Fresh through two funding rounds. His investments include:

Series A - Captain Fresh (July 15, 2020)

• Funding Round: Series A
• Lead Investor: No
• The investment strategy centers on building operational scalability and improving the company's sourcing capabilities.

Series A - Captain Fresh (July 18, 2021)

• Funding Round: Series A
• Lead Investor: No
• The startup requires funds to expand its operations throughout the seafood and fresh produce market segment.

Partner Investments

Souvik led strategic investments at Infra.Market, which helped the company strengthen its position in the industry as its Co-Founder.

Shalimar Paints (January 18, 2022)

• Investment Through: Infra.Market
• Funding Round: Post-IPO Equity
• Lead Investor: Yes
• Shalimar Paints requires investment funds to enhance its market dominance, build new product lines, and improve supply network operations.

Souvik Sengupta - Controversies

Income Tax Raids and Undisclosed Income

The Income Tax (I-T) Department executed searches throughout March 2023 at 23 locations associated with Infra.Market. Locations included Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, and Madhya Pradesh. The CBDT exposed that the startup had hidden earnings exceeding INR 224 crore. Furthermore, this triggered significant suspicions about financial reporting.

Bogus Purchases and Unaccounted Cash Transactions

The investigation showed that Infra.Market participated in multiple illegal activities, including:

• Bogus purchases to inflate expenses.
• The company failed to record unaccounted cash payments through official financial records.
• The company made accommodation entries totaling more than INR 400 crore to alter financial statement reports.
• Company directors faced evidence of their financial practices by making sworn statements to authorities, which resulted in tax liability settlements.

Hawala Transactions and Shell Companies

Through investigation, a comprehensive hawala network consisting of shell companies in Mumbai and Thane emerged. These paper-only entities conducted suspicious financial operations. Furthermore, this results in INR 1500 crore of transactions, thus creating money laundering risks and regulatory compliance issues.

Foreign Investments Under Scrutiny

Foreign investment through Mauritius became controversial. Moreover, shares were reported to be sold at extremely high premium rates. The questionable premium prices of shares through Mauritius-based entities triggered tax evasion concerns and fund diversion suspicions.

The ongoing operations of Infra.Market with investor attraction does not diminish the concerns that venture capitalists, together with industry analysts and regulatory bodies, have about these allegations. The controversy demonstrates the difficulties startups face when rapidly expanding in India’s startup ecosystem because of concerns regarding financial transparency.

The company Infra.Market has not released any official statement about these allegations, which keeps the industry and investors actively monitoring the situation.

FAQs

Who is Souvik Sengupta?

Souvik Sengupta is the founder of Infra.Market, a B2B construction materials marketplace in India.

When was Infra.Market founded?

Infra.Market was founded in 2016.

What is Souvik Sengupta education?

Souvik Sengupta is a Chartered Accountant. He is an alumnus of IIM Bangalore and completed his graduation from Sydenham College in Mumbai.