Climate-tech startup Varaha has secured $8.7 million in its recent funding round, spearheaded by early-stage VC firm RTP Global. Existing investors Omnivore and Orios Venture Partners also joined the round, along with Japanese cooperative bank Norinchukin Bank.
The funds raised will be utilized by Varaha to enhance its technology and science capabilities, expand its team, and invest in the growth of its supply chain.
Varaha, established in 2022 by Madhur Jain, Ankita Garg, and Vishal Kuchanur, plans to expand into new regions, including East Africa and Southeast Asia, utilizing the recently secured funds over the next 18 months.
The climate-tech startup collaborates with intermediaries, on-ground partners, and NGOs to reduce carbon emissions in farming practices, enabling large corporations to acquire carbon credits or offsets.
Varaha addresses the increasing pressure on organizations to cut carbon emissions by assisting corporates in offsetting their emissions through initiatives that help farmers in India and neighbouring regions adopt sustainable agricultural practices, thereby releasing fewer greenhouse gases.
In agriculture, Varaha works with farmers in Punjab and western UP to enhance crop microbial strength, discourage crop residue burning, and improve soil microbial strength through biological interventions.
The company also extends its efforts to farmers in Nepal and Bangladesh.
“This is a ripe opportunity as India holds 164 million hectares of agricultural land area. The idea is to scale and identify the right cropping systems for farmer cohorts and reduce carbon emissions … We do the due diligence by contracting our own staff on ground which collect data and assess impact of our intervention practices,” said Jain, who is also the chief executive of the company.
Jain stated that Varaha has secured contracts to produce 230,000 carbon credits this calendar year, selling them to carbon credit marketplaces like Klimate and Carbonfuture, as well as corporate entities. Currently, the company has partnerships with six institutions.
With ambitious goals, Varaha aims to generate 1.2 million carbon credits by the conclusion of FY25 and increase this number to 2.8 million carbon credits in FY26.
“Varaha sits in the intersection of two of our big thesis around improving the lives of Indian farmers through technology as well as climate. Our thesis on climate tech is a progress from agritech. And we think climate will be the next big disruptive market globally,” said Galina Chifina, partner on RTP Global’s Asia investment team.
Varaha is set to broaden its presence in six additional geographies in the upcoming months and plans to increase its team size to over 100 members in the upcoming fiscal year.
