Agritech Platform CultYvate Raises INR 4.5 crore In Pre-series A Round With the fresh funding, the company plans to expand its physical presence in Punjab, Haryana and Maharashtra
By Akshit Pushkarna •
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Farms2Fork Technologies' IoT-enabled agritech platform CultYvate announced fundraise of INR 4.5 crore in a pre-series A funding round. The funding saw participation from leading venture capitalists Sirius One Capital Fund, alongside other marquee investors including Sunicon, The Chennai Angels, LV Angel Fund, and Prodapt Technology Holding.
Established in 2016, the company's primary business is to provide tech solutions to farmers which help them minimize farming inputs and maximize yield. The company utilizes systems developed independently as well as in conjunction with IISc among other farmer bodies, NGOs, academics, etc.
The company plans to utilize the funds to expand its geographical presence in Punjab, Haryana and Maharashtra, as well as, talent acquisition for developing AI, ML and remote sensing. CultYvate is also poised to devise solutions on monetization opportunities that can minimize the cost of ownership for the farmers.
Mallesh TM, founder of CultYvate, believes that the brand is driving an environmental change through their tech inculcation in the farming business. "Presently, our farmers growing paddy are saving up to 80 lakh litre of water/ hectare, every crop season, as well as, earning a 10 per cent incremental profit. Our mission is to save 1 trillion litre of water over the next five years. Additionally, we envisage reducing the cost of ownership for farmers, whilst amping up their profitability up to 20 per cent by focusing on water-guzzling crops such as paddy, cotton and sugarcane," he said.
While agritech as a sector has been much deliberated about in terms of expansion in India, the same is also reflected in the VC investment interest in the sector. A Bain & Co. report recently showed that investment in Indian agritech has growing at a 50 per cent per annum rate, aggregating to approximately INR 6,600 crore.
Addressing the vision for the investment, Saloni Jain, Partner, Sunicon, said, "We are excited to have invested in CultYvate. It was impressive to gauge the amount of overall impact and ease the platform generates. We are confident that the founding teams' passion and the groundwork to build the platform will provide global solutions not only for the benefit of the farmers and the environment but also for the consumption ecosystem as a whole, since it affects the quality of produce we all consume."
