Climate-tech startup Varaha has raised $45 million, marking the close of an initial $20 million tranche led by WestBridge Capital. With this funding, the company continues to strengthen its position in the global carbon removal ecosystem.
According to the company, Varaha will deploy the fresh capital to accelerate geographic expansion, reinforce its scientific and Measurement, Reporting, and Verification (MRV) capabilities, and scale a new industrial partnership model. At the same time, the startup continues to build long-term momentum through carbon offtake agreements with U.S. technology giants Google and Microsoft, along with a major U.S.-based aviation company.
“In climate tech so far, while several investments have been made, very few companies have scaled to a level where they can absorb the kind of capital and opportunity we typically invest behind. Varaha is probably the first, or among the first, companies in India to reach that stage, where it can now attract large, mainstream capital,” Singhal said, explaining WestBridge’s decision to start investing in this space.
He further added, “What we are seeing now is a more direct, mainstream climate approach, where companies capture carbon from emissions and store it back in the ground. These are still early trends.”
Meanwhile, Varaha continues to develop carbon removal projects across four core pathways: Biochar; Afforestation, Reforestation and Revegetation (ARR); Regenerative Agriculture; and Enhanced Rock Weathering (ERW). Together, these pathways allow the company to address emissions across multiple ecosystems and geographies.
Singhal also highlighted the growing urgency of carbon removal solutions amid rising energy consumption driven by artificial intelligence and expanding digital infrastructure. “Climate solutions such as carbon removal will therefore gain relevance, not as a function of AI alone, but as part of ensuring sustainable long-term growth,” he said.
In addition, RTP Global, which led Varaha’s Series A, has joined the current round with a super pro-rata investment. Alongside RTP Global, Omnivore, one of Varaha’s early-stage investors, has also participated in the round.
“We believe carbon removal will increasingly become part of core climate infrastructure, much like digital and AI infrastructure today. Our investment in Varaha reflects that long-term view of building scalable, credible platforms,” he added.
Founded in 2022, Varaha is headquartered in Gurgaon, India, and currently operates over 20 carbon projects spanning India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, and the Ivory Coast. Through this growing footprint, the company continues to scale its climate impact across emerging and developed markets.
Looking ahead, Varaha is entering its next phase of growth with the launch of the Varaha Industrial Partners Program (VIPP). This biochar-focused partnership model targets industrial operators worldwide. Through VIPP, partners with gasification capabilities and access to sustainable biomass can leverage Varaha’s advanced digital MRV expertise and carbon credit origination capabilities, thereby accelerating high-integrity carbon removal at scale.
