Agricommerce Company WayCool Foods Raises up to $40 MIllion US based VC 57 Stars led the latest investment round of the company along with its existing investors
By Akshit Pushkarna •
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Agricommerce company WayCool announced the raise of $40 million in a funding round. Out of the $40 million, $25 million is raised against equity while the rest is debt. The investment was led by US based global alternative investment firm 57 Stars LLC. Existing investors also participated in the latest investment round. The investment is the first transaction for 57 Stars' Direct Impact Fund and the second investment for 57 Stars Global Innovation Fund 2 ("GIF 2").
Founded in 2015 by Karthick Jayraman and Sanjay Dasari, the agricommerce has grown significantly in recent years. It last closed $117 million in a Series D funding round which saw participation from LightRock, LightBox, FMO, Lightsmith, World Bank's International Finance Corp., Redwood Equity Partners and Gawa Capital. The company aims to build the world's largest food development and distribution services and positively impact the lives of 500,000 farmers. It is currently delivering 900+ tonnes of produce per day in India. The company utilizes robotic process automation, artificial intelligence, and machine learning technologies to provide value to suppliers and clients.
Chinna Pardhasaradhi, CFO, WayCool, said "We are happy to partner with 57 Stars in the next phase of our journey. This investment illustrates the continuing confidence of mature global investors in fundamentally sound businesses delivering lasting impact."
Gene Pohren, 57 Stars Co-Founder and Managing Director, added: "We believe our investment in WayCool is highly impactful, generating significant positive social and environmental outcomes at scale and addressing massive challenges in the food supply chain, where an estimated 30% of food is wasted before it reaches the end-consumer. This deal provides our investors with participation in India's leading crop-tech company with potential to outperform."
