Vegrow, a B2B fruit marketplace, announced a successful funding round, raising $46 million in its Series C. The leading investor in this round is Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund, GIC.
This marks GIC’s inaugural investment in agritech and B2B sectors in India, reflecting a significant step into the country’s growing agricultural technology landscape.
In the most recent funding round, the startup founded in 2020 secured additional funding, bringing its total raised capital to $40.5 million. The current valuation of the startup is approximately $290 million, said cofounder Shobhit Jain.
In the funding round held in July 2022, the company had a valuation of $170 million. Notably, other investors in this round included Prosus Ventures, Matrix Partners India, Elevation Capital, and Lightspeed.
Other investors had previously contributed funds to Vegrow, indicating ongoing support and confidence in the company’s growth.
In the recent funding round, approximately $6 million was allocated for a secondary share sale. This resulted in partial exits for Ankur Capital, Titan Capital, and Better Capital, while several angel investors secured full exits, said Jain.
The raised funds will be utilized by Vegrow to expand its business operations in India and enhance its global network, according to Jain.
Vegrow was established by a team of IIT alumni, including Jain, Praneeth Kumar, Mrudhukar Batchu, and Kiran Naik. In addition to their agricultural expertise, the cofounders bring marketplace experience from their previous roles at ITC, Urban Company, and Chronus.
The startup’s platform functions as a matchmaker, connecting farmers cultivating various grades of fruits with customers having specific preferences.
This demand-supply matchmaking strategy employed by Vegrow not only facilitates accurate grading of produce but also efficiently aligns it with the most suitable demand channel, ultimately maximizing farmers’ income.
Vegrow, in its international endeavours, has established networks in the Middle East, South Africa, and Turkey.
“Vegrow is the fastest agri-tech company to build a national presence, having done this within three years of its inception. Typically, it takes double the time to achieve this scale of operations,” said Vegrow co-founder Kumar. The company claims to be among India’s largest exporters of bananas.
In the last year, Vegrow has experienced a remarkable fivefold increase in revenue and achieved operational profitability, as stated by the company.
“Through the extensive utilization of data and technology, we provide valuable insights and optimize (for) supply chain challenges, such as reducing perishable inventory wastage to only one-fourth of the industry average, and consistently achieving industry-leading profit margins,” cofounder Batchu added.
“The founders’ extensive experience in the sector and demonstrated execution differentiates them, and GIC is looking forward to partnering with Vegrow in their next phase of growth,” the sovereign investor said in a statement from the company.
