The journey of Neal Thakker is rooted in deep industry exposure and academic rigor. With a Bachelor’s degree in Business/Managerial Economics from the University of California, Irvine (2018–2020), Neal developed a sharp understanding of markets, pricing systems, and global trade. His academic pursuit continued at San Jose State University, where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Economics (2020–2021), refining his analytical and strategic thinking.
But Neal Thakker’s education extended beyond classrooms. His professional journey in the building materials industry offered real-world exposure to global markets, procurement dynamics, and operational complexities.
Neal Thakker: Learning the Industry from the Ground Up
Before founding Magma in 2022, Neal Thakker accumulated diverse experience across international markets:
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Asian Granito India Ltd. (2018) – As an Export Assistant, he worked with key markets such as the USA and UAE, dealing primarily in large-format ceramic tiles and quartz products. This early exposure helped him understand the intricacies of global demand and quality control.
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Ampio Surfaces (2020–2021) – Serving as Director, Neal focused on exporting vinyl tiles and large-format porcelain slabs to Latin America, strengthening cross-border trade relationships.
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MSI (2021) – As a Product Associate, Neal managed ceramic, vinyl, porcelain tiles, quartz/composite slabs, and natural stone slabs. He also handled key clients in Northern California, learning firsthand how industrial customers evaluate reliability, price consistency, and service quality.
These experiences gave Neal Thakker something invaluable: a panoramic understanding of supply chains from sourcing to export to client management. He observed inefficiencies, fragmentation, and waste across the ecosystem — and he saw opportunity.
Founding Magma: A Bold Industrial Vision
In 2022, Neal Thakker founded Magma in Ahmedabad with a clear mission: to build a vertically integrated industrial solutions platform that empowers Indian factories to scale smarter and cleaner.
Magma positions itself as the “infrastructure backbone” of Indian manufacturing. It enables factories to:
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Source high-quality, customized raw materials
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Transition to green energy and biomaterials
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Manage industrial waste sustainably
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Improve procurement efficiency
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Reduce operational risk
Unlike traditional supply businesses, Magma integrates materials, logistics, renewable energy, and recycling into one cohesive ecosystem. This vertically integrated model gives clients consistency, traceability, cost control, and sustainability — all under a single strategic framework.
Neal Thakker: Rapid Growth and Investor Confidence
The vision of Neal Thakker quickly gained investor attention.
In 2023, Magma raised $3.3 million from General Catalyst, Titan Capital, and other backers. Building on that momentum, the company secured $5 million in Series A funding led by Capria Ventures, with participation from Avinya Ventures, Sanjiv Rangrass, and returning investors including General Catalyst, Accion Venture Lab, and WEH Ventures.
This capital infusion is being deployed strategically:
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Strengthening core offerings
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Investing in backward integration
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Scaling green manufacturing solutions
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Expanding recycled materials platforms
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Enhancing processing infrastructure
Investors see Magma addressing a $36 billion opportunity in one of India’s most underserved industrial supply chains — and Neal Thakker’s execution capability has been central to that confidence.
Scaling with Profitability and Discipline
Today, Magma serves more than 250 industrial customers across sectors including ceramics, chemicals, packaging, paper, polymers, and plastics.
The company is already operating profitably at an annual revenue run rate of ₹250 crore and aims to scale to ₹1,000 crore within two years.
In FY26 alone, Magma crossed ₹500 crore in its order book — a milestone reflecting deep market trust.
Neal Thakker emphasizes disciplined growth. Rather than chasing vanity metrics, Magma focuses on margin control, operational efficiency, and high-quality revenue streams. The company is strategically scaling down its industrial gases vertical under green energy to concentrate on stronger, more critical segments.
TerraMag: Deepening Value Chain Control
As part of its raw materials vertical, Magma introduced TerraMag, its private-label arm producing industrial powders and compounds through its own processing facility.
This move reflects Neal Thakker’s philosophy of backward integration — controlling more of the value chain to ensure quality, consistency, and profitability. TerraMag’s expanding SKU portfolio is designed to serve critical production applications with reliable, application-ready performance.
By owning more steps in the process, Magma reduces supply risk for factories while strengthening its own operational moat.
Circular Economy in Action
One of the most transformative aspects of Neal Thakker’s strategy is embedding sustainability into core business operations.
Magma operates a liquid marketplace and reverse logistics system that allows factories to liquidate dead stock and industrial waste. These materials are then recycled through a supplier network, reducing landfill waste and creating new revenue streams.
Initially focused on packaging and kraft waste, Magma has expanded into PET and plastic waste — building a comprehensive circular economy model for industrial clients.
This approach does not treat sustainability as corporate social responsibility; it treats it as a growth lever.
Technology as a Competitive Advantage
Neal Thakker understands that modern industry runs on data.
Magma leverages technology for:
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Material traceability
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Logistics optimization through backhauls (reducing carbon emissions)
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ESG tracking through its Magma Green platform
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Interactive sustainability reporting
By combining operational systems with digital intelligence, Magma helps factories operate cleaner, smarter, and more efficiently — while improving margins.
Sustainability and Profitability: A Unified Strategy
Under Neal Thakker’s leadership, Magma rejects the outdated idea that sustainability comes at the cost of profitability.
Instead, Magma demonstrates that:
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Greener materials reduce regulatory risk
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Efficient logistics lower operational costs
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Waste valorization generates new revenue
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Circular supply chains build resilience
Factories working with Magma are modernizing faster — not because they are forced to, but because the economic logic makes sense.