Agritech startup Fasal has raised Series A funding of INR 100 Cr ($12 Mn) led by TDK Ventures and British International Investment (BII).
The round also saw participation from ITI Growth Opportunities Fund, Navam Capital and Aureolis Ventures, along with existing investors including 3one4 Capital, Omnivore, Wavemaker Partners, Genting Ventures and The Yield Labs Asia Pacific.
Fasal will use the fresh capital to scale up and expand its B2B brand Fasal Fresh and branching out its operations both into India and Southeast Asia.
Besides, the proceeds will also be deployed for advanced research and development in its proprietary farm IoT-crop (Internet of Things) intelligence technology and the development of a carbon-negative horticulture value chain.
Founded by Shailendra Tiwari and Ananda Verma in 2018, Fasal is a precision horticulture platform that leverages AI, crop sciences and IOT to provide farm-level, crop-specific and crop-stage-specific intelligence to enable resource optimisation (water, pesticides, etc) and higher farm productivity while procuring the high quality, traceable produce for an end-to-end optimised value chain play.
Under its Fasal Fresh, it procures farm produce to secure the best market rates for farmers while optimising the supply chain play.
In 2021, the startup raised $4 Mn in its Pre-Series A funding round led by 3one4 Capital with participation from Omnivore and Wavemaker Partners.
“With this capital infusion, we plan to expand Fasal’s presence from 75,000 acres to 500,000 acres and enable our technology to deliver more to our farmers by providing them access to sustainable crop inputs, farm-level crop insurance, and working capital at lower interest rates. We will provide our buyers with sustainably grown, high quality, and traceable horticulture produce by further diversifying and strengthening our B2B brand ‘Fasal Fresh’,” said Tiwari.
“These funds will amplify our exclusive farm IoT-Crop intelligence technology, reshaping the farming landscape. We envision a data-driven behavioral change where each byte contributes to sculpting the future of agriculture. From predicting optimal harvest times to establishing a sustainable, traceable supply chain, this investment propels us into a future where science, technology, and agriculture seamlessly intertwine,” said Verma.
Fasal’s funding comes at a time when India’s agri space is witnetbssing a paradigm shift. Agriculture in the country has traditionally relied on outdated tools and is frequently susceptible to the unpredictability of weather conditions. However, agritech startups are revolutionising the landscape by leveraging various new-age technologies. As a result, the sector has been gaining a lot of traction from several investors for quite some time now.
For instance, last week, agritech startup Vegrow marked the final close of its Series C funding round with $46 Mn in a mix of primary and secondary infusions.
Prior to that, in September, another agritech startup Ergos raised $10 Mn via a mix of equity and debt financing in its Series B round.
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