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RB announces $25 million for Reckitt Global Hygiene Institute
NEW DELHI: RB today announced the launch of a global initiative to generate high-quality scientific research-based evidence to inform public health recommendations and promote behaviours that improve global hygiene. The Reckitt Global Hygiene Institute (RGHI) is a public health research and innovation hub that will bridge epidemiology, public health and behavioural insights to generate practical, high-quality scientific research that leads to enduring behaviour change.
“The Covid2019 pandemic has pushed public health to the top of the global agenda. At RB, we see the need for a new paradigm that brings together the highest quality scientific based evidence and informed public health recommendations to generate large-scale behaviour change for a cleaner, healthier world,” said RB CEO Laxman Narasimhan. “Today we’re announcing our commitment to convene a group of multi-disciplinary experts who, like us, believe real change on a global scale is within reach if we translate science-based evidence and consumer behavioural insights into sustainable hygienic practices that can be adopted globally. This ambitious goal is the result of our belief that the highest quality hygiene is a right and not a privilege.”
RB’s commitment to global hygiene research and education includes:
A multi-year, $25 million investment in research aimed at filling the gaps in our understanding of the science-based evidence around hygiene and the behaviours and solutions necessary to sustain it.
The formation of an Expert Panel—comprised of cross-discipline luminaries—to guide these research efforts at leading academic institutions around the world.
The creation of a Global Hygiene Institute with physical infrastructure, a Governing Board supported by full-time staff, ongoing research, and education programming driven by expert researchers and educators.
Through the establishment of a fellowship program with leading universities, RGHI will generate practical, informed public health research and recommendations that champion global hygiene as the foundation of health. The RGHI Governing Board will determine specific areas for research and will work with the Expert Panel to award the fellowships to promising early career academics, who will become Reckitt Fellows. In addition to the fellowships, the Institute will award grants to institutions for open, collaborative, cross-functional research. The Expert Panel will further define the parameters of these awards.
RB is honored to announce the founding members of the governing board and expert panel including:
Professor Peter Piot, director of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine
Dame Sally Davies, master of Trinity College, Cambridge
Professor Feng Cheng, research center for public health, Tsinghua University School of Medicine, Tsinghua
Dr Randeep Guleria, Director, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS)
Professor Dr Albert Ko, department chair and professor of epidemiology, Yale School of Medicine
Professor Teo Yik Ying, Dean, Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, National University of Singapore
“The purpose of RB—to protect, heal, and nurture in the relentless pursuit of a cleaner, healthier world—resonates more than ever in the current environment. I am excited to work with the Expert Panel and combine the deep experience in their respective fields with RB’s expertise in hygiene and consumer behaviours,” said RB chief safety officer Simon Sinclair, who has been named executive director of RGHI. “We look forward to partnering across disciplines and geographies to generate the information necessary to support the right behaviour changes for a healthier world.”
Updates about RGHI are forthcoming as additional details about the initiative are confirmed. The formal launch of the Institute will be in the autumn of 2020.
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Aman Gupta’s OFF/BEAT secures Rs 100 crore seed funding round
Bessemer backs new venture betting on AI and India’s digital shift
MUMBAI: Aman Gupta has raised Rs 100 crore in seed funding for his new venture OFF/BEAT, with Bessemer Venture Partners leading the round as it bets on a new wave of AI-led, consumer-first businesses in India.
The funding marks an early but significant push for OFF/BEAT, which is positioned to tap into a rapidly evolving market shaped by a digitally native generation and advances in artificial intelligence. The venture aims to build at the intersection of culture and technology, where brand identity and innovation increasingly go hand in hand.
Gupta, best known for co-founding boAt and scaling it into a Rs 3,000 crore-plus business, is now looking to apply those learnings to a new playbook. His focus this time is not just on building a consumer brand, but on leveraging AI and global networks to accelerate growth.
OFF/BEAT founder Aman Gupta said, “Having built from scratch before, I know what capital can do and what it cannot. This time, I was looking for partners with a global perspective who can help me leverage technology and AI, because that is where the future lies. Bessemer’s track record with companies like Anthropic, Shopify, Canva and LinkedIn says it all.”
The choice of investor reflects that ambition. Bessemer Venture Partners has backed global technology players such as Anthropic, Shopify, Canva and LinkedIn, bringing not just capital but strategic support and global reach.
Bessemer Venture Partners partner Anant Vidur Puri said, “We back founders who see around corners. Aman saw how a new India would come to think about aspiration, identity and quality, and built boAt as proof. He is now applying that same instinct to a market being reshaped by AI and by a generation with entirely new expectations.”
The investment comes at a time when India’s startup ecosystem is being reshaped by both consumer behaviour and technological disruption. Founders are increasingly expected to understand not just products, but the cultural shifts that drive adoption.
For OFF/BEAT, the journey is just beginning, but the signal is clear. In a market where attention is fleeting and expectations are rising, building something truly distinctive may be the only way to stay on beat.
