Many people have heard of the concept of aromatherapy.
Around for centuries, aromatherapy is the practice of inhaling certain scent molecules found in essential oils that can travel from the olfactory nerves in the nose and go directly to the brain, where they can positively impact one’s emotional response.
What Louisville startup Aurat Aroma is doing is taking that concept and looking more in depth into the neuroscience behind it by use of certain fragrances from specialized candles, while also adding components of machine learning/AI.
And recently, the company received big news as it looks to continue to build its overall infrastructure and offerings.
Recently the company was named to the Nvidia (Nasdaq: NVDA) Inception Program, an AI-based initiative that provides selected startups with marketing support and other sources. If that name sounds familiar that’s because the company created the graphic processing units (GPUs) and chips that have powered most of the surge in generative AI technology (more on this later).
Aurat Aroma co-founder Lekha Challappa began her path to the company by delving into the realm of neuromorphic computing in 2019.
Neuromorphic computers are specifically designed to mirror the structure and functionality of the human brain and nervous system, or as she calls it “neural network architecture.”
“Do you like the smell for this, period, or are [you] having this excitatory response? And then you realize, is it benefitting me? It smells nice, but is that scent actually doing something because the therapies that are out there are very concerned with the smell that you feel in those first 30 seconds,” Challappa first told me back in May. “You inhale. You like it. We’re more concerned with the next three hours. Are you going to be more productive? Is it going to modulate your emotions?”
The company — which is a finalist for our 2024 KY Inno on Fire Awards — uses nine fragrances that are combined into three different candle offerings. Each is created to target one of three neurotransmitters in particular to provide a productivity boost: acetylcholine, Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) and serotonin.
“We build candles to solve problems,” Challappa said back in May.
She co-founded the company in 2022 with Arshi Chopra, a fellow Louisville native, who earned her undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University of Louisville. Chopra is currently in the process of applying for medical schools.
I first met Challappa at the University of Louisville’s L&N Federal Credit Union Stadium on May 1 at the inaugural Derby Tech Summit, where she was one of 12 winners of $100,000 each of the 2024 Render Competition.
At the time, she was still living in Atlanta after finishing up a graduate degree in business analytics at Emory University. It was in Atlanta where she met Konstanin Cvetanov, a senior solution architect at Nvidia. She is currently her time between Atlanta and Louisville. Out of the company’s 10 employees, eight live in Kentucky.
What's next for Aurat Aroma
Through Cvetanov’s assistance, Aurat Aroma is in the process of rolling out the enterprise arm of its operations where it will be providing candles to Nvidia teams located throughout its geographic footprint — in the interest of helping boost employees’ productivity.
That rollout is scheduled to take place in September. If that goes well, the plan is to roll out a similar enterprise offering to other companies down the road.
“We’re in an age where people are quitting companies left, right and center,” Challappa said. “There are people who are getting laid off left, right and center. We’re trying to balance the needs of the company with the reality of the employee.”
In addition, the company is looking to launch an “aroma for all” campaign to the general public in 2025. Candles will be sold through its website at $40 each.
Earlier this spring, the Aurat Aroma ran beta tasting both on individuals — which including a lot of tech professionals who had been laid off — as well as companies based in Kentucky and Atlanta. According to the company’s site, those who have used the candles have registered a 30% increase in productivity.
Challappa would not provide any specific numbers of her company’s funding, but did say total capital raise thus far was under $1 million. In addition to the $100,000 she received from Render Capital, she has four angel investors, with two of them being based in Kentucky and two of them from other countries. Cvetanov is in the process of being a fifth investor, as well as an equity partner.
She did add that the company would be looking to possibly raise a round in the latter portion of 2025, following the two rollouts.
