India’s agritech and rural finance ecosystem continues to attract investor attention as startups focus on improving credit access and operational efficiency across the agricultural supply chain. In the latest development, ONO has raised $1.2 million in a pre-Series A funding round to scale its data and AI-powered platform designed for India’s post-harvest agricultural ecosystem.
The funding round was led by Aeravti Ventures with participation from Tremis Capital and a group of angel investors. The investment also marks Aeravti Ventures’ second backing of ONO after previously leading the startup’s seed round.
Founded by Rama Rao Kancharapu and David Pokuri, the startup is focused on addressing long-standing inefficiencies within India’s post-harvest agricultural supply chain. The company aims to improve access to formal credit, reduce operational bottlenecks, and enable stronger long-distance market connectivity for agricultural small and medium enterprises across the country.
India’s agricultural supply chain has traditionally faced challenges including fragmented market structures, limited access to structured data, weak trust networks between buyers and sellers, and restricted access to institutional finance for farmers and agri-traders. Participants operating across long-distance agricultural trade routes often lack reliable tools for counterparty verification, risk assessment, and rapid working capital access.
ONO stated that it has developed a technology-driven intelligence platform that operates across this ecosystem by providing real-time insights into pricing, logistics, market behaviour, and trading volumes. The platform is designed to support farmers and agri-SMEs with faster payments, improved price discovery, and reduced transaction risks throughout the supply chain.
Rama Rao Kancharapu said, “The agricultural supply chain continues to operate with significant inefficiencies due to a lack of structured data, trusted networks, and timely access to finance. At ONO, we are building a technology and intelligence layer for the post-harvest ecosystem that enables stakeholders to make faster, smarter, and more reliable decisions, and more importantly, get timely access to fair credit. With Aeravti Ventures continuing to back us in this journey, we are focused on scaling our lending and market infrastructure capabilities across India.”
According to the company, ONO has already facilitated more than ₹100 crore in co-lending while maintaining a non-performing asset ratio of just 0.05%, significantly lower than conventional agricultural lending benchmarks. Beyond financing, the startup is also working to reduce fraud and payment defaults in long-distance agricultural trade, where produce and capital frequently move across hundreds of kilometres between parties without prior business relationships.
The platform currently operates across 12 states and more than 125 districts, serving over 1.3 lakh ecosystem participants including farmers, commission agents, traders, transporters, and buyers. The company also claims to have more than 2,000 paid subscribers, facilitated over ₹200 crore in beneficiary payouts, and enabled the movement of more than 25,000 metric tonnes of agricultural produce through long-distance markets.
Rishabh Singh said, “ONO is solving one of the most critical infrastructure gaps within Indian agriculture, building trust, transparency, and financial accessibility across post-harvest supply chains. The company’s ability to leverage data and AI to unlock market access and reduce inefficiencies at scale strongly aligns with our investment thesis at Aeravti Ventures. Having partnered with ONO since its seed stage, we continue to remain highly confident in the team’s execution capabilities and long-term vision.”
The funding comes shortly after ONO acquired a significant stake in a non-banking financial company, a move expected to strengthen its lending infrastructure and expand direct credit access for underserved agri-SMEs. The startup is also preparing for a larger Series A funding round as it looks to scale its presence further across India’s agricultural markets.
The development reflects a broader trend within India’s agritech ecosystem, where startups leveraging artificial intelligence, data-driven decision-making, and digital finance infrastructure are playing a growing role in formalising agricultural trade, improving financial inclusion, and modernising rural supply chains.
