Virat Kohli, Agilitas-backed one8 makes its debut

one8, a sportswear brand built by Agilitas and co-founded by Virat Kohli, has made its formal debut. 

While the company has collaborated with the likes of Karan & Masaba Gupta, one8 also formed partnerships with leading and emerging athletes, including Smriti Mandhana, Devdutt Padikkal, Jitesh Sharma, Rajat Patidar, Pratika Rawal, Pooja Singh, Sohrab Khushrushahi and Anshuka Parwani.

The company said that it has set up a community of over 1.6 million users on Instagram. It added that the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Canada have emerged as strong early growth markets outside India. 

Commenting on the milestone, Abhishek Ganguly, Founder & CEO, Agilitas, said: “For decades, India has looked up to global sports brands. With one8, our ambition is to demonstrate what is possible when a sports brand is built from India with global ambition from day one. The response we have witnessed in just the first week has been extraordinary, not simply because of the numbers, but because of what they represent. Every member of this growing community is a believer in our vision to build a world-class sports brand from India. This is just the beginning of a much larger journey.”

India’s sportswear brand is gaining momentum. Earlier this week, PlayBlue, an omnichannel multi-brand sports retail platform, has raised USD 2.7 million in seed funding round, co-led by Court Capital and MIXI Global, with participation from WEH Ventures.

Founded by sports industry veteran Satyam Trivedi and serial entrepreneur Jayam Vora, PlayBlue brings more than 100 global and homegrown brands across athleisure, footwear, equipment and nutrition into curated experiential stores, backed by a single digital platform with expert buying guidance, unified inventory and quick delivery.