Vegrow, a business-to-business agritech platform, said Wednesday it has concluded its Series C round of funding led by Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC.
Existing investors Prosus Ventures, Matrix Partners India, Elevation Capital, and Lightspeed Venture Partners also participated in the round, Vegrow said in a statement.
The total size of the round, which is a mix of primary and secondary capital, was $46 million (Rs 384 crore). The round provides an exit to some of Vegrow’s early investors including Better Capital, Titan Capital and a few angel investors.
Vegrow, owned by Chifu Agritech Pvt Ltd, is valued around $285-290 million after the transaction.
The Series C round follows the Series B round in July 2022 when Vegrow raised $25 million led by Prosus. Previously, the startup raised $13 million in its Series A round, co-led by Lightspeed and Elevation Capital in July 2021 and $2.5 million in seed funding led by Matrix and Ankur Capital in July 2020.
Co-founder Shobhit Jain told VCCircle the startup will use the fresh capital to deepen its presence in the country and improve its international network.
The Bengaluru-based company was set up in 2020 by IIT alumni Jain, Praneeth Kumar, Mrudhukar Batchu and Kiran Naik. It provides a fruit marketplace which connects farmers and customers, matching demand and supply channels by accurately grading produce.
“GIC’s long-term vision and reputed global network can contribute to building a company that will last generations,” Jain said.
He added the company has grown about five times in the last year and achieved operational profitability in FY23. In FY22, it reported an operating revenue of Rs 101 crore, as per its annual filings with the Registrar of Companies, accessed by VCCEdge, the data research platform of VCCircle.
In the current financial year, Vegrow expects revenue to grow about three times.
The investment in Vegrow is GIC’s maiden transaction in the agri-tech and B2B domain so far. This year, GIC, one of the most active alternative investment firms in India, has invested in manufacturing company Amber Enterprises India Ltd and Jaipur-based Genus Power, among others.
Previously, the wealth fund picked up a stake in shadow lender Shriram Finance Ltd for $172 million through open market transactions. Earlier, it also teamed up with Brookfield India Real Estate Investment Trust to acquire two commercial properties from Canadian alternative investor Brookfield Asset Management Inc.
Avendus Capital was the exclusive financial advisor to Vegrow on this transaction.
