The battle for the 10-minute home service market has claimed its first major victim of 2026. Pync, the Accel-backed startup that promised ultra-fast domestic help, has officially ceased operations. In what is being described as an “acquihire” move, Pync’s three co-founders—Harsh Prateek, Mayank Sahu, and Dev Priyam—along with a significant portion of their workforce, are set to join their primary competitor, Snabbit.
The Rise and Fall of Pync
Founded in 2023, Pync initially entered the market with a car-cleaning subscription model before pivoting to the high-frequency house-help sector. Operating exclusively in Bengaluru, the startup raised approximately $2 million in seed funding and successfully scaled to a peak of 5,000 daily orders.
However, the “quick commerce” economics of the sector proved difficult to sustain independently:
- Fierce Competition: Pync found itself squeezed between the market dominance of Urban Company and the aggressive expansion of Snabbit and Pronto.
- High Cash Burn: Sector-wide monthly burn rates reportedly jumped from $2M in August 2025 to over $7M in December 2025, driven by deep discounts and the high cost of supply onboarding.
- Consolidation Pressure: With deep-pocketed rivals raising significant rounds (Snabbit recently bagged $30M), smaller players like Pync faced an uphill battle for customer retention.
The Move to Snabbit: An Operational Integration
Rather than a traditional acquisition, the founders and roughly 20–25 employees from Pync will transition to senior roles within Snabbit.
| Feature | Pync (At Shutdown) | Snabbit (Current Status) |
| Active Market | Bengaluru Only | Pan-India (Major Metros) |
| Total Funding | ~$2 Million | ~$60 Million |
| Peak Daily Orders | 5,000 | 16,000+ |
| Outcome | Shuttered / Acquihired | Expanding into Cooking & Cleaning |
“Our capability of running lean multi-category operations, together with Snabbit’s scale and execution excellence, will make an exceptionally strong team.” — Harsh Prateek, Co-founder, Pync.
A Signal for the Quick-Service Sector
Pync’s closure is being viewed by analysts as a “sanity check” for the 10-minute home help category, which only emerged as a distinct sector in early 2025. As the category matures, the market is expected to settle into a “three-player race” between Urban Company (Insta Help), Snabbit, and Pronto.
For consumers, this consolidation likely means fewer deep-discount coupons but a more reliable and standardized service experience as the remaining players focus on operational excellence over sheer growth.
Conclusion
Pync’s journey highlights the volatility of the Indian startup ecosystem in 2026—where even a well-funded, high-growth company can be forced to fold if it cannot keep pace with the massive capital reserves of market leaders. As the Pync team integrates into Snabbit, all eyes will be on whether this combined force can finally challenge Urban Company’s long-standing dominance.
