Agriculture has always been a central part of India’s economy since it contributed 50% of the nation’s GDP from the time of independence and continues to be conducive by being the source of India’s income by 20% as well as employing 45% of the national workforce to date.
In the present day with less than 1% of the market, Indian agriculture-tech firms present a window worth $24 billion since the market has not been fully explored yet. In reality, the market size of Agriculture is around $493 billion with only a 0.8% penetration of technology, proving the expansive prospect of this sector.
According to a report by Earnst&Young, between 2020 to 2027 hopefully, the agri-tech industry will flourish at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 12.1% as the domain of agriculture has a huge potential to contribute around $600 billion to India’s GDP by 2030 increased by 50% over its offering in 2020 while presently agri-tech ecosystem can contribute $95 billion to India’s GDP surging the income of farmers by 35%.
According to the economic survey of India 2022-23, over 1300 agri-tech start-ups have emerged in this sector increasing by 4.6% in the last six years. The agri-tech landscape in India has managed to increase a good amount of funding as it raised funds worth US$2.4 billion involving 133 deals, US$3.6 billion over 230 deals, US$2.1 billion across 190 deals, and US$1.3 billion within 143 deals in the years 2022,2021, 2020, and 2019 respectively.
Venture capital firms, alone have invested nearly around $1.2 billion in 2022 through 114 deals surging by 50% from the investment it made in 2021. The average deal size is getting bigger in numbers indicating the matured stage of agriculture-tech start-ups.
Indian Government initiatives have also supported these start-ups strongly as the government has funded $750 million for the next five years to establish over 10,000 FPOs (farmer-producer organizations) along with many other schemes.
The agri-tech ecosystem of India with the help of government policies, the acceptance of farmers to technology, and stable sources of funding can make history in this field full of potential.
Focusing on the fact that India is already on her way to setting a record in the agri-tech landscape as we represent 10 Indian start-ups in the Agri-tech industry today in this listicle.
1. DeHaat
DeHaat was founded in 2012 by a bunch of IITians namely Shashank Kumar, Amrendra Singh, Abhishek Dokania, Shyam Sundar Singh, and Adarsh Srivastava. The firm has its headquarters in Patna and one main office in Delhi.
What do they do and what is their product?
India’s leading startup in the agri-tech sector, DeHaat offers end-to-end agricultural services to Indian farmers It provides solutions to all crop-related problems. This includes the distribution of seeds, farm machinery, pesticides, cattle feed, and fertilizers The firm also manages to connect small farmers to the marketplaces along with providing financial aid, farm advisory, and all other agriculture allied products.
What market they are targeting?
It aims to remove the inclusion of middlemen and other logistic hurdles which restrains the farmers from reaching out to high-paying institutional buyers directly. DeHaat Technology Solution has been designed to create a transparent marketplace to ensure crop yielders get 40K farmers and efficiently move it to more than 60K retailers on a daily basis using analytical information.
First Traction
The agro-tech sector firm secured its first seed funding in 2014, nearly 2 years after it came into existence. The funding amount was $150K, led by the Indian Angel Network (IAN). The company’s valuation in 2014 was $2.4Mn.
Year-over-Year Analysis
As per financial statements filed with Registrar of Companies (ROC) the firm gross revenue in FY24 rose by 40% to ₹2,700Cr from ₹1,965Cr in FY22. The growth rate observed in FY23 was 54.2% as the revenue in FY22 was ₹1,274Cr. The company expanded across 11 states and is serving 1.5 million farmers in over 1L villages. DeHaat incurred a net loss of ₹371Cr in FY23. The firm is valued at $703Mn as of November 2023. In FY24, the Patna-based startup reported a 40% increase in its operational revenue which surged to ₹2,700Cr. While managing its expenditure efficiently resulted in cutting is losses to half.
Competitors
AgroStar, Krishiyog, Cropin, and EST Global are a few of its competitors with the same target market.
Recent In News
Business-to-farmer(B2F) platform DeHaat completed its first Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) buyback worth ₹10Cr.
2. Ninjacart
India’s leading B2B Fresh Produce Supply Chain platform, Ninjacart was founded by Kartheeswaran K.K., Vasudevan C., and Thiru Nagarajan. The Bengaluru-headquartered startup was founded in 2015.
What do they, what do they do, and what is their product?
Ninjacart connects fruit and vegetable farmers directly with businesses. Thus, ensuring farmers sell their products at maximized profits. It helps retailers source fresh crops from farmers directly. The B2B-modeled startup uses the latest technology such as data science, infrastructure, and logic networks to achieve its aim.
What market are they Targeting?
Ninjacart’s target customers are stand-alone vegetable shops, kirana stores, and other food service providers Ninjacart directly sources huge volumes of fresh produce from around 40k farmers and efficiently moves it to more than 60k retailers on a daily basis using strong analytical tools.
First Traction
Ninjacart raised its first funding was announced in August 2015 in series A of $3M led by Accel.
Year-over-Year Analysis
For FY22-23 the company had a valuation of $815Mn. The overall revenue surged to ₹1600Cr in FY23 from ₹945Cr in FY22. The growth rate of 70% was observed in this year. The firm as of now has raised $368Mn funds. The company incurred a loss of ₹325Cr in FY23 which was just a little high as compared to the ₹306Cr net loss in FY22.
Competitors
Flipkart-backed Ninjacart has a market share of 17% and is ranked 2nd among its other competitors as per Tracxn. The firm faces fierce competition from startups such as WayCool, CroFarm, and FreshToHome.
3. Absolute
It was in 2015 when Agam Khare and Prateek Rawat joined hands and founded Absolute. The Delhi-headquartered firm is one of the biggest providers of diversified crops and bio-material solutions in India.
What do they do and their product?
Absolute combines technology and agriculture to surpass the benefits of organic food. Its absolutely natural and non-GMO produce undergoes various rounds of test controlling, from seed to harvest thus ensuring the best quality. Ensuring that the products reaching the customers should be chemical, pesticide, and adulterant-free is their aim.
First Traction
The firm raised its first funding in the seed round in 2019. The amount of the fund remains undisclosed. Absolute was valued at $10Mn in FY19.
Year-over-Year Analysis
The firm has a valuation of $500Mn in FY22. The total revenue generated by the company was ₹360.9Cr in 2022, showing a significant increase from ₹28.4Cr in FY21. The growth rate stands out at 12.7%. The Bengaluru-headquartered startup has raised $116Mn in funding as of now. The net loss increased to ₹37.4Cr in FY22 from ₹3Cr in FY21.
Competitors
Titan Biotech, Kan Biosys, and IPL Biologicals are the other big names in this sector having a similar business model.
Ground Insights and their Current Stage
Absolute’s operating revenue surged by 12.7% to ₹360.9Cr in FY22 from ₹28.4Cr in FY21. The startups having secured funding from investors like Sequoia Capital, and Tiger Global Management help farmers grow crops without using synthetic methods. The startup expenses skyrocketed to ₹397.9Cr this year from ₹32.5Cr in FY21.
4. AgroStar
The 4th startup in this list, AgroStar was founded by Shardul Sheth in 2008. It is India’s one of the oldest startups in the agri-tech sector. AgroStar has its headquarters in Pune.
What do they do and their product?
India’s foremost Agtech startup aims to provide a complete range of solutions to agriculture-related problems at the fingertips of farmers. Its tech platform provides a combination of agronomy advice coupled with service and agri-input products that enable farmers to improve their productivity and increase efficiency.
What Market they are Targeting?
AgroStar’s target audience includes small and marginal farmers in the country who face challenges such as lack of market access and prior information, low selling prices and low productivity.
First Traction
The firm received its funding in 2015 of $1Mn. The valuation at that time remained undisclosed.
Year-over-Year Analysis
The firm as of now has raised $147Mn in funding over 10 rounds. Its latest funding was in May 2023. The agri-tech startup valuation is $235Mn in FY22. The gross revenue surged to ₹260.4Cr in 2022 from ₹138.2Cr the previous year. The company has observed a growth rate of 41.67% during FY21-22. AgroStar losses almost doubled up to ₹141.7Cr in FY22 from ₹ 74.8Cr in 2021. The startup has a current valuation of $291Mn.
Competitors
The company faces tough competition from other startups such as Bighaat, Combyne, Phonograph, and BharatAgri.
5. Arya.ag
One of India’s largest Integrated Grain Commerce platform, Arya.ag was founded in 2013 by Anand Chandra and Prasanna Rao.
What do they do and their Product?
The Noida-headquartered firm in an efficient manner interlinks the supply side of the agri ecosystem with the demand side through a comprehensive portfolio of agri-services. It ensures organizations involving farmers’ interests, food processors, and aggregators avoid post-harvest loss. Arya.ag assists sellers of agri-commodities to avoid distressed sale of produce by extending post-harvest credit.
First Traction
It received $3Mn funding in Series A which was announced on 13 December 2016, nearly a year after the startup was founded.
Year-over-Year Analysis
In FY22, the company’s valuation stands at $300Mn. The firms’ growth rate was about 50% as revenue surged to ₹4,1500Cr in FY24 from ₹2,016Cr in FY22. The firm has raised $111.7Mn as of now. The company reported Profit After Tax(PAT) of ₹17Cr in FY23-24. The services provided by Arya.ag is used by over 7L farmers across 21 states and 450 districts.
Competitors
The company faces tough competition from startups such as VegRoute and Apna Godam.
Recent In News
The Blue Earth Capital backed the agritech startup Arya.ag with an investment of $29M. The fund will be used to improve profitability and further increase it’s market share.
6. WayCool
With the main focus on Food development and efficient distribution in the nation WayCool was founded in 2015 by Karthik Jayaraman, Sanjay Dasari, Vignesh Kumar Manogaran and Sendhil Kumar Natarajan.
What do they do and their product?
The Chennai-headquartered firm leverages innovative technology to operate a complex supply chain from soil to sale. It regulates a full stack, broad product range across multiple categories such as dairy, fresh produce, and staples. Its target audience is the people involved in modern trade and food services.
First Traction
The company’s one of the earliest funding was announced in April 2017. The funding was raised in early-stage venture capital and the amount was $2.68Mn. The firm was valued at $3.8Mn by 2017.
Year-over-Year Analysis
The agtech startup gross revenue rose to ₹1,700Cr in FY23 from ₹927Cr in FY22. The total funding secured by the firm is $342Mn. The company has a valuation of $712Mn currently. The net loss in FY22 was ₹360.5Cr which was more than the net loss of ₹149Cr in FY21.
Competition
WayCool currently has the highest market share in India. It faces competition from agritech sector startups like ApnaKlub, FarMart, Bijak, and Agrim.
Recent in News
WayCool foods technology subsidiary CensaNext has joined hands with SAP India to empower the agritech sector and food value chain startups.
7. VeGrow
One of the latest startups in ag-tech startups, VeGrow was founded by four IITians, Praneeth Kumar, Shobhit Jain, Mrudhukar Batchu, and Kiran Naik in 2020. The company has its base set in Hyderabad.
What they do and their product?
VeGrow tends to build an asset-light farm by collaborating with small farmers on a profit-sharing model. Hence, building value chains for identified communities. By the means of latest technology across various agricultural processes, the startup aims to increase the earnings of farmers.
First Traction
In July 2020, the Hyderabad-based startup raised its first seed funding of $2.5Mn led by Ankur Capital and Matrix Partners India.
Year-over-Year Analysis
The company has a valuation of $280Mn by FY23. The firm recorded 3.5X growth in FY22-23. The overall revenue surged to ₹361Cr in 2022 from ₹100.8Cr in 2021. VeGrow has secured $86.5Mn funding with the latest funding raised in a Series C primary and second round led by General Insurance Corporation(GIC). The B2B-modeled firm net loss increased to ₹114Cr in FY23 from ₹29.7Cr in FY22.
Competitors
WayCool, NinjaCart, and Farmat are a few startups against which the company competes in the market.
8. Cropin
India’s leading ‘Full-Stack agtech’ startup, Cropin was founded in 2010 by Krishna Kumar. The firm has its headquarters in Bengaluru.
What do they do and their product?
The SaaS-modeled company’s various products enable different stakeholders in the agri-ecosystem, including financial services providers, to drive digitalized solutions in all agricultural operations. Cropin aims to bring in new technology to agriculture-related organizations and leverage near real-time data and insights to make optimum decisions.
First Traction
Cropin raised its first funding in a seed round on 10 September 2011, the amount was $40K.
Year-Over-Year Analysis
The agritech firm has a valuation of $95.6Mn in FY22. The overall funding raised by the B2B-modeled startup is $68.9Mn. The Bengaluru-based company recorded gross revenue of ₹39.1Cr in FY22, showing more than 50% YoY growth as the overall revenue in FY21 was ₹18.8Cr. The Cropin family spreads across 7Mn farmers in over 130 countries. Cropin incurred merely to ₹43.2Cr in FY22 from ₹35.2Cr in FY21.
Competitors
Other firms that share similar business ideas like Cropin are Sagri, Blue Cocoon Digital, and Ucrop It.
Recent In News
On 16 April 2024, global agritech company Cropin announced the launch of ‘Aksara’, a micro language model to aid climate-smart agriculture. The model is designed majorly for the crops grown in South Asia. The aim of the firm with this launch is to provide efficient measures of sustainable growth for farmers while offering versatile language support.
9. Ergos
Ergos was founded in 2012 by Kishor Kumar Jha and Praveen Kumar. The Bengaluru-headquartered startup works on one of the most unique business models in the agri-tech sector. It is building a ‘GrainBank’ that provides easy access to small and marginal farmers for post-harvest chain supply solutions.
What do they do and their product?
Using its ‘GrainBank’ model Ergos provides credit facilities from partnered banks against the grain stored with it. It has built scientifically managed warehouses where farmers can even store a single bag of grain. Ergos aggregates the supply, and offers market linkage to farmers,
First Traction
The firm raised $2Mn in a seed round in 2016 while its valuation remained undisclosed at that time.
Year-over-Year Analysis
The company generated total revenue of ₹40.81Cr in FY21 which has increased over the years to ₹134.6Cr in FY22 and to ₹224Cr in FY23. Ergos has raised $32.1Mn since its inception. The firm is valued at $55Mn by FY22. The growth rate surged to 66% in FY23. The net loss increased by nearly 25% to Rs23Cr in FY22 from Rs5.8Cr in FY21.
Competitors
The firm faces fierce competition from various startups like Emerald Grain, AgriDigital, and Origo.
10. Intello Labs
Making the most of machine learning in agriculture, Intello Labs was founded in 2016 by Milan Sharma, Devendra Chandani, Himani Shah, Ashutosh Kumar, and Nishant Mishra. The firm has its headquarters in Gurugram.
What do they do and their product?
Intello Labs uses image matching and machine learning to check the quality of crops. It provides advanced image recognition technology that identifies flora, fauna, and objects and tags them in any image. It further senses changes in specifications hence matching output to needs. Using the best analytical tools and methods like Deep Learning, AI, and the Internet of Things(IoT) to generate the best solutions for its users
First Traction
The firm secured $2Mn funding in its first seed round which was led by Omnivore and Nexus Ventures Partners
Year-over-Year Analysis
The company has a valuation of $77Mn in FY22-23. The agtech startup gross revenue in $3.2Mn in 2023. The firm as of now has raised $16.6Mn. The latest funding of ₹7.72Cr was led by Saama Capital whilst Omnivore, Avaana Capital, Nexus Venture Partners, and AgFunder invested ₹3.88Cr each.
Competitors
The firm faces competition from startups like AgNext, DeHaat, and WayCool in the market.
