India 2023 Agrifood Investment Report

India AgriFoodTech
Investment Report 2023
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INDIA AGRIFOODTECH INVESTMENT REPORT 2023 | AGFUNDER.COM
Contents
01 Introduction
02 Key insights
03 Omnivore
Investment highlights
04 Featuring startup spotlights - Ecozen, Loopworm, Varaha
Investment by category
05 Featuring startup spotlights - Agrizy, S4S Technologies
07 Category definitions
08 Sources & methodology
09 Image credits
Our partners
AgFunder is one of the world’s most active AFN is a news site dedicated to publishing Omnivore is a venture capital firm, based in
foodtech and agtech VCs with nearly. daily, original news about global India, which funds entrepreneurs building
We’re rethinking venture capital for the food+ag+climate systems and technologies. the future of agriculture and food systems.
21st century. Born online in 2013, we use Also known as AgFunderNews, AFN is a Omnivore pioneered agritech investing in
technology, media and network effects division within AgFunder Inc, one of the India, backing over 40 startups since 2011.
to invest in and support transformational world’s most active foodtech and agtech Every day, Omnivore portfolio companies
founders and technologies. Based in venture capital firms. drive agricultural prosperity and transform
Silicon Valley and Singapore, we've food systems across India, making farming
Become an insider and join our 90,000+
invested in over 60 startups operating more profitable, resilient, sustainable, and
subscribers by signing up to our must-read
from farm-to-fork, globally. climate-proof.
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For exclusive updates on India's agrifood
sector, subscribe here.
India agrifoodtech
investing in 2022
Upstream agrifoodtech startups were the bright Covid-19 in 2020 and 2021. A highly saturated
spot in a bleak year, raising $617 million, up home delivery market further reduced investor
50% year-on-year. Startups working to integrate interest. In the coming months, we expect
India’s hyper- fragmented agricultural ecosystem fewer players to enter the downstream market
attracted generalist investor attention including and to see more M&A activity among existing
DeHaat, Waycool, and Captain Fresh. Upstream companies.
investments have also become more diverse,
Across India’s agrifoodtech ecosystem, 2023
with increasing activity in carbon credits and
will stress test startups, while also being an
farm robotics.
ideal vintage for VCs who can enter promising
Despite attracting heavy funding over the past deals at cheap valuations. Despite the transient
few years, investment dollars in downstream headwinds, agrifoodtech in India will continue
agrifoodtech startups saw a 37% dip in 2022. to surge ahead. We hope this report catalyzes
Once the pandemic lockdown ended, many further engagement and collaboration across
downstream ventures struggled to maintain this exciting space.
the accelerated pace of growth created by
The agrifoodtech startup ecosystem in India mirrored the global slump in

venture capital funding in 2022. Funding dropped 33% to $2.4 billion in
2022, from $3.6 billion in 2021. Euphoric startup valuations, alongside easy
money, drove investments to a record-breaking high in 2021, followed by a
swift correction.
Happy reading!
Despite the dip, the sector is a critical emerging space in India for
transforming agriculture and ensuring food security. With the responsibility Louisa Burwood-Taylor,
of sustaining 17.7% of the world's population, the country is facing the Mark Kahn and the
urgent task of addressing various value chain inefficiencies and mitigating AgFunder & Omnivore Teams.
the escalating effects of climate change. More than 80% of Indians live in
climate-vulnerable districts. By 2030, over 17 million people in India can
potentially go hungry due to climate change-induced hunger.
*This report uses India’s calendar year 2022 which is January 2022 - December 2022.
Key insights
Agrifoodtech startups in India raised a total of Meal Marketplaces and eGrocery were the most
$2.4 billion in 2022, down 33% from 2021. funded downstream categories yet again. The
capital raised by these two categories accounts for
The number of deals also declined to 133 in 2022, 54% of total funding in Indian agrifoodtech, with
compared to 230 deals in 2021. eGrocery startups landing the highest number of
late-stage deals.
Startups innovating upstream, closer to the
farmer and in the supply chain, bucked the Downstream startups raised $1.7 billion in 2022,
downward trend, raising $617 million, up 50% from a 37% decrease from $2.6 billion in 2021. Swiggy’s
$409 million in 2021. $700 million late-stage deal accounts for the bulk
of investment in this category.
Farmtech also remained relatively strong, raising
$1.1 billion in 2022, only a modest 15% drop from eGrocery startups raised $776 million across 20
$1.3 billion in 2021. deals, accounting for 32% of overall agrifoodtech
funding in India.
Rising concerns around the impact of climate
change on Indian agriculture have captured the Midstream Technologies deal activity decreased.
attention of investors, catalysing efforts to deliver While the category remains active with $232
efficient and affordable technology solutions to million raised across 14 deals, the reduction in
smallholder farmers. deals indicates multiple sub-categories achieving
relative maturity.
Agribusiness Marketplaces and Fintech category
was the most funded upstream category.
Key insights
BIGGEST DOWNSTREAM
BIGGEST DOWNSTREAM DEAL
CATEGORY
eGrocery Swiggy
$776 MILLION $700 MILLION
FUNDING
FUNDING
TOTAL BIGGEST UPSTREAM

AGRIFOODTECH INVESTMENTS CATEGORY
$2.4 billion Agribusiness BIGGEST UPSTREAM DEAL
Marketplaces Waycool
$117 MILLION
TOTAL
FARMTECH INVESTMENTS
and Fintech FUNDING
$428 MILLION
$1.1 billion FUNDING
Partner Omnivore pioneered agritech investing
Omnivore in India and is the only impact investor in

South Asia focused entirely on agriculture
and food systems. The firm currently
manages $120 million across two funds
and invests in Indian startups developing
breakthrough technologies for agriculture,
food, climate, and the rural economy.
Omnivore’s investment thesis focuses on
six core agritech themes: Farmer Platforms
and Fintech, Precision Agriculture, B2B
Agri Marketplaces, Farm to Consumer (F2C)
Omnivore is a venture capital firm, based in India, which
Brands, Agrifood Life Sciences, and Post-
funds entrepreneurs building the future of agriculture Harvest Technologies.
and food systems. Omnivore portfolio companies drive
Over the past decade, Omnivore has become
agricultural prosperity and transform food systems the preferred investor for agritech startups
across India, making farming more profitable, resilient, in India, given its deep sectoral expertise
sustainable, and climate-proof. omnivore.vc and catalytic value addition. Every member
of Omnivore’s investment team has prior
experience in agribusiness, agricultural
development, food processing, rural
marketing, and/or agricultural technology.
Omnivore has recently begun helping
To date, Omnivore has backed over 40
to catalyze the nascent agrifood life
startups and impacted the lives of more
sciences ecosystem in India. In 2021,
than 12 million farmers.
Omnivore launched a special initiative
Omnivore portfolio companies have shown called OmniX Bio to accelerate early-
great perseverance in solving legacy issues stage agrifood life science startups.
in Indian agriculture and paving the way OmniX Bio is catalyzing venture capital
for a more climate-resilient future. The towards Indian entrepreneurs working in
latter is especially necessary given India’s the fields of agricultural biotechnology,
high degree of vulnerability to climate novel farming systems, bioenergy and
change. With agriculture representing biomaterials, and innovative foods,
25% of the Indian economy and impacting including alternative protein. OmniX
the lives of 130 million farmers and their Bio also provides mentorship from
families (approximately 600 million Indians), global agrifood life sciences leaders,
Omnivore portfolio companies will create institutional partnerships, and business
massive social and environmental impact in development support to access domestic
the coming years. and export sales channels.
Investment
highlights
5 years of
agrifoodtech
in India Funding
$ USD
Deals
The global economic slowdown

and relentless onslaught of climate 230
$3.6 DEALS
change have had a telling impact 4 BILLION 250
on investment trends. While capital
190
flows have become cautious with DEALS
heightened scrutiny on various 200

performance metrics, the past 3 $2.4 $2.4 143
Total funding billions $ USD

decade, especially the pandemic BILLION
$2.1
BILLION
Total number of deals

124
DEALS
133
years, proved the importance of BILLION DEALS
150
tech innovation to safeguard food DEALS
security. India was not immune to 2

the global slowdown and pullback in $1.3
investment in 2022 but as with the
BILLION
100
global stage, there were bright spots
including an increase in upstream 1
investment. The macroeconomic 50
headwinds had a bigger impact
on downstream, consumer-facing
categories, where funding declined
0 0
significantly.
2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
Investments
by stage Funding by stage
$ USD $2.5
BILLION
2018-2022 ($ USD)
$0.6
$2.1 BILLION $1.7
BILLION BILLION
$1.5
BILLION
$0.5
4 $0.3 BILLION
$0.5
BILLION BILLION
$0.8 $0.4
BILLION BILLION
Total investment in 2022 dipped 3 $0.1 $0.2

33% year-over-year. Late-stage BILLION
$0.2
BILLION
$0.4
investments dropped by 34% and BILLION
BILLION
early-stage registered a 46%

decrease. Growth-stage deals
2 $0.1
showed comparative stability with
an 8% decrease in capital flow.
BILLION
0
2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
$2.5 $1.3 $2.1 $3.6 $2.4

BILLION BILLION BILLION BILLION BILLION
Early (Pre-Seed to Series A) Growth (Series B to C) Late (Series D+)

Investments
by stage Deals by stage
13
LATE
2018-2022 ($ USD)
11
LATE
27
GROWTH
11
10
LATE
18 9
LATE
GROWTH
184 LATE
250 EARLY
27
25
GROWTH
154 23
EARLY GROWTH
GROWTH
200
By number of deals, the early- 105
Number of deals by stage

stages adjusted down by 45% 89
EARLY
101
EARLY
signaling a more challenging 150 EARLY
environment for new entrants in

the sector.
100
50 124 143 183 224 133

TOTAL TOTAL TOTAL TOTAL TOTAL
0
2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
Early (Pre-Seed to Series A) Growth (Series B to C) Late (Series D+)

Investments
by stage
Median deal sizes Largest deal raises
2022 ($ USD)
STAGE COMPANIES FUNDED RAISES
$2.4 billion Aquaconnect $15m

Mooofarm $13m
raised in India in 2022 $269
300 $258 MILLION Deep Rooted $12.5m
MILLION
Eggoz $8.8m
133 deals 250

Absolute $100m
Media deal sizes millions $ USD
across the region in 2022 200
Captain Fresh $50m
Curefoods $50m
Jai Kisan $50m
$29.6 billion
150 $93
MILLION
Farmart $32m
raised globally in 2022 100 Swiggy $700m
$21 $22
Dunzo $240m
MILLION MILLION
$26
MILLION
50
$2 $4 $3 Zepto $200m
MILLION MILLION MILLION
Licious $150m
0
2020 2021 2022
Early Growth Late

Investments Funding by supply chain

by supply $ USD
$2.7
chain
BILLION
2018 - 2022 ($ USD) $506

$2.3 MILLION
$1.7
BILLION BILLION
$1.8
BILLION $409
4 MILLION
$88 $178
MILLION MILLION
$981
MILLION $159
MILLION
Investment trends did not replicate 3 $35 $617

across the supply chain. While
MILLION MILLION
$238 $137
funding to startups in downstream MILLION
MILLION
and midstream categories decreased

— 37% and 65% respectively — 2 $74
upstream investments are on the MILLION
rise, with a 50% year-over-year

increase in 2022.
1
0
2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
$2.5 $1.3 $2.1 $3.6 $2.4

BILLION BILLION BILLION BILLION BILLION
Upstream Midstream Downstream

Investments Deals by supply chain

by supply 114
chain
DEALS
97
DEALS
33
2018 - 2022 DEALS
83 32
80
DEALS
DEALS
83 62
DEALS
DEALS DEALS
250
26 61
Rising concerns about the impact 15
DEALS
DEALS
14
DEALS
of climate change on agriculture 200
DEALS
have catalysed investments in

34
deep science tech startups that 57
offer deep moats, deliver efficient 29 DEALS
Number of deals
DEALS
150 DEALS
and affordable tech solutions to
smallholder farmers, and ultimately
create long-term value for investors.
100
50
0
2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
124 143 190 230 133

TOTAL TOTAL TOTAL TOTAL TOTAL

Farmtech
investments
Funding Deals
2018 - 2022 ($ USD) $ USD
137
$1.3
Farmtech refers to technologies 1.5
BILLION
150 DEALS
that are deployed on the farm and $1.1

that largely aim to improve farming BILLION
outcomes from better agricultural 1.2 120

102
96 DEALS
practices to forging reliable farm to DEALS
87

customer connections. 83
Total number of deals

DEALS
DEALS
A corresponding 37% decrease in 0.9 90

the number of deals is indicative
of higher deal values and more
mature startups tackling chronic 0.6 $0.4 60
inefficiencies in the value chain. $0.3 BILLION
$0.2 BILLION
BILLION
0.3 30
0 0
2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
Investments
by category Categories by funding $ USD) Investment by deal count
2022 ($ USD)
1%
Category $ USD
3%
Agribusiness Marketplaces & Fintech $ 428m 8%
Ag Biotechnology $ 123m
In 2022, Indian agrifoodtech raised 23%
Novel Farming Systems $ 30m
$2.4 billion across 133 deals.
Farm Management Software & Sensing $ 19m
The most active categories by 15%
number of deals were Agribusiness Farm Robotics, Mechanization + Equipment $ 16m
Marketplace & Fintech and Innovative Food $ 5m 4%
eGrocery.
Bioenergy/Biomaterials $ 0.5m
Aside from Swiggy’s late stage 5% 5%
Midstream Technologies $ 178m
$700 million late-stage funding
round, Online Restaurants & Meal Miscellaneous $ 10m 5%
Marketplaces did not see much
eGrocery $ 776m
Online Restaurants & Meal Marketplaces $ 775m
6%
Premium Branded Foods & Restaurants $ 52m
32%
In-Store Retail Tech $ 38m
7% 1%
Home and Cooking $ 9m
4%
Cloud Retail Infrastructure $ 0.8m
Upstream
Midstream
Downstream
Startup spotlight What stood out to you the most opportunities. Capital access has
Ecozen
about 2022? significantly increased and we now have
The highlight of 2022 was Ecozen’s over 1000 players in the agritech space.
MIDSTREAM TECHNOLOGIES tremendous growth triggered by the What keeps you up at night?
growing acceptance of our smart-farming
technology led solutions among farmers. The sustainable amelioration of society
and our environment. Climate change is an
What are the biggest challenges impending threat in our future. The early
facing the world’s food and agriculture signs are plenty- from changing climate
industry today? patterns to heat waves in Europe.
With the global population breaching How is your technology making a
Ecozen develops climate-smart deeptech solutions and core technology the 8 billion mark and dwindling natural positive impact on the world?
stacks to deliver a sustainable future, including motor controls, IoT, and resources, food security challenges that
need to be addressed urgently. Our innovations have helped farmers
energy storage. Applying these technology stacks to the agricultural sector, improve farm productivity and have
Ecozen has revolutionized cold chains (Ecofrost) and the irrigation industry How would you describe the irrigated over 6 lac acres of arable land,
agrifoodtech sector to an outsider? increased harvest shelf-life by up to eight
(Ecotron), substantially improving the income of 100,000+ farmers and times, reduced food loss by 30% and
Despite the relative unattractiveness
enabling the generation of over 1Bn units of clean energy(kWh). of this rather difficult space lies great increased their revenue by 40%.
What are your predictions for 2023 in
our industry?
Like all other sectors, climate conscious
innovations will emerge as a key theme in
Indian agriculture in 2023.
What has your experience fundraising
been like?
It has been a rewarding experience,
especially due to the current focus on
sustainable business models over growth-
focused, loss-making ones. We are proud
to have both generalist and specialist
investors on our board who support
Ecozen’s vision of sustainable food
ecozensolutions.com systems and better farmer livelihoods.
Investments
by category Changes in deal count YoY
YoY change in deal count
20
Almost all categories closed fewer

deals in 2022 than in 2021. Investors +5
10 +4
focused on funding growth-stage DEALS
+1
DEALS
startups over early or late-stage DEALS
companies. Only in Agribusiness
Changes
Marketplaces and Farm Robotics did 0
the number of deals increase.

-2 -2 -3
Over the pandemic years, the former -4 DEALS DEALS
DEALS
-10 DEALS
-6
proved its efficiency and profitability DEALS -7
to all stakeholders. Farm robotics is -10 DEALS
-10
DEALS DEALS
a fast emerging category with rapid -13
-20 -15 -15
advancements in frugal farmer- DEALS
DEALS
DEALS
centric innovations. The deepening -20

impact of climate change has
DEALS
made farm automation a crucial

step towards scaling sustainable
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Startup spotlight What stood out to you the most

about 2022?
offers technology-based solutions to
improve yields, productivity & quality of
Loopworm As a multi-insect species focussed
agribiotechnology startup leading a niche
the produce, reduction in drudgery at
farms or factories.
NOVEL FARMING SYSTEMS space, we were thrilled to secure the What keeps you up at night?
support of mainstream investors in 2022.
Developing industrial processes with
What are the biggest challenges insects as the bioresource is not well
facing the world’s food and agriculture established. The strategy to quickly
industry today? develop technologies, conduct R&D, and
Stretching limited resources, such as arable test processes to harness the fullest
land, potable water, and wild flora & fauna, potential of insects, keeps me up at night.
to sustain a growing world population is the How is your technology making a
Loopworm is an agri-biotechnology company that takes inspiration from biggest challenge of our times. positive impact on the world?
nature to convert organic wastes into valuable products promoting health,
How would you describe the Loopworm is making sustainable insect-
nourishment & well-being for all forms of life. Loopworm is currently agrifoodtech sector to an outsider? based alternative proteins & fats for the
focusing on producing alternative sustainable protein & fats for shrimp Agrifoodtech enables better & superior aquaculture, poultry & pet food industry.
feeds, poultry feeds & pet foods. nutrition to humans, plants, & animals, Compared to growing conventional plant-
based ingredients, our insect-based
products consume 200X less arable land
and potable water.
our industry?
In 2023 we should see more investments
flowing into life sciences innovations
due to the increasing focus on reducing
wastage & utilizing by-products.
been like?
It was difficult to explain biotech & life
sciences to investors. The demand to
establish a working proof of concept
loopworm.in before the fundraising leads to a chicken-
and-egg problem because of the poor
availability of pre-seed or R&D capital at
the right terms and quick timelines.
Investments
by category Median deal size (2021 vs 2022)
YoY change in deal $139
MILLION
amount and median

$126
deal sizes MILLION
150
120
With the exception of eGrocery,
Total funding millions $ USD

Downstream and Midstream
categories saw a decrease in
90
investments and deal sizes.
Upstream categories had a relatively
better year with increased deal
sizes in Agribusiness Marketplace 60
and Fintech, Farm Robotics and
miscellaneous spaces including
carbon credits creation and farmer- 30
centric social media platform.
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about 2022?
What are the biggest challenges facing
the world’s food and agriculture industry
Varaha What surprised me most in 2022 was
the enthusiasm of our partners across
today?
We must solve for end-to-end
MISCELLANEOUS geographies to work with us and create decarbonization, from cropping practices
value for communities and ecosystems. to waste processing to transportation,
Our initial target in 2022 was to scale up while promoting defensive practices and
to bring 100,000 acres within our carbon measures that increase climate resilience.
projects, yet we ended the year with over
What keeps you up at night?
300,000+ acres.
I reflect on how to balance our core
How would you describe the
regenerative agriculture focus with other
agrifoodtech sector to an outsider?
technology-focused permanent removal
Varaha’s tech-enabled platform generates carbon credits by incentivizing Agrifoodtech is a recession-proof industry solutions, and develop our core technology
carbon-neutral, nature-based practices. Varaha’s projects that generate with immense downstream impact. In India, offerings to other ecosystem participants as
these credits are meticulously vetted through machine learning algorithms there is much scope to harness tech-based an enabler versus a competitor.
innovation, advanced market structures and
and carbon modeling, ensuring every investment results in carbon removal new incentives to advance all aspects of our
How is your technology making a
positive impact on the world?
and creates an additional income source for the smallholders along the way. food systems.
Varaha’s technology educates smallholders
about suitable and remunerative
regenerative agricultural practices and
offers a science-backed and platform-led
quantification of emission reduction and
carbon sequestration at scale.
our industry?
In contrast to organic farming, regenerative
agriculture marries science and the
practical world well. I foresee more startups
coming up in this space.
been like?
varaha.earth Given the infancy of carbon markets, we
had to educate investors about the sector
and its potential. Eventually, we were
oversubscribed in our seed round and
found some truly incredible partners
Investment
by category
Agribusiness
01 DeHaat 06 Vegrow
Marketplaces
& Fintech $60m SERIES E
$25m SERIES B
Top deals ($ USD)

02 Captain Fresh 07 BigHaat
Agribusiness Marketplaces & Fintech
startups raised $428 million in 2022,
a marked increase from 2021. The $50m SERIES C
$13.4m SERIES A
category also emerged as the most
active category by number of deals,
closing 32 over the year. Full-stack
agricultural platform DeHaat took 03 DeHaat 08 Mooofarm
the lead raising $106 million across
two rounds.
In 2022, as technology adoption
$46m SERIES C
$13m SERIES A
spread in the ecosystem, startups

began solving legacy challenges,
chief among them being access to
affordable formal finance. Fintechs
04 ShopKirana 09 Jai Kisan
and neo-banks such as Ayekart
and Jai Kisan are tailoring products
for various stakeholders to fortify
$45.1m SERIES C
$50m SERIES B
livelihoods and supply chains.
05 FarMart 10 Ayekart
$32.2m SERIES B
$5.5m SERIES A

about 2022?
with multiple stakeholders, numerous
challenges and boundless potential. The
Agrizy As a company committed to using the latest

technologies to improve our processes and
sector is ripe with opportunities for those
willing to navigate said complexity and
products, we were excited to see increasing invest in innovation.
MIDSTREAM TECHNOLOGIES
technology adoption across the industry. What keeps you up at night?
What are the biggest challenges Notwithstanding the boundless
facing the world’s food and agriculture opportunities in the agrifood processing
industry today? sector today, scaling remains a tough
Some of the major challenges in the Indian undertaking.
food processing industry include gaps in How is your technology making a
supply chain infrastructure, inadequate positive impact on the world?
Agrizy is a tech-first platform to bridge the processed agri supply chain. link between production and processing,
and inadequate focus on quality and safety By automating the process of connecting
The platform connects the agri suppliers, agri processors and buyers of buyers and suppliers, we have been able
standards.
agri products across food and non-food categories to optimally discover to increase capacity utilization of SME
How would you describe the agrifood processors and standardize
and fulfil transactions. Agrizy’s solutions include a digital B2B platform, a agrifoodtech sector to an outsider? quality and operations.
network for value added processing services, and embedded fintech.
Agrifoodtech sector is a complex space, What are your predictions for 2023 in
our industry?
In 2023 adoption of agritech innovations
will increase, and startups will play a
crucial role in driving this trend.
been like?
In agriculture, the pace of business
is relatively slower due to seasonal
constraints, and the results of investments
are not immediate. This makes it difficult
for generalist VCs to understand the
industry and the potential returns on
investment. We have been fortunate
agrizy.in to receive support from investors who
understand the unique nature of the
agriculture industry.
Midstream
Technologies
Top deals ($ USD) 01 Waycool 05 Suite42
$117m SERIES D
$4.3m SEED
Despite Waycool closing such a
big round, this category raised
61% less than in 2021. For context,
the massive increase in aggregate
investments from 2020 (a total
02 Bijak 06 Agrizy
of $150 million) to 2021 (a total
of $460 million) was largely
driven by Ninjacart and Jumbotail
$19.3m SERIES B
$4m SEED
raising a combined $255 million

in 2021. These two startups
are B2B platforms focused on
servicing small retailers, a theme 03 Ecozen 07 Poshn
that growth stage investors
have soured on post-pandemic,
resulting in a steep drop in funding $15m SERIES C
$3.8m SEED
for the category in 2022.
04 Ourfood
$6m SERIES A
Startup spotlight
S4S Technologies
How is your technology making a women farmers to become processors
positive impact on the world? including a combination of technology,
S4S is creating a new food ecosystem that access to finance, training & capacity
MIDSTREAM TECHNOLOGIES building, and market linkage.
mitigates the increase in agricultural GHG
emissions while meeting the world’s food Through S4S intervention, women can be
needs. S4S’s renewable energy solutions transformed as the breadwinner in the
and the integrated food-energy system can family - doubling her household income
directly advance energy and food security, and helping her move ouf of poverty.With
while also contributing to job creation, financial freedom, she also gets greater
gender equality, and climate resilience and participation in the decision-making at
adaptation. the household level.Some of the women
S4S Technologies is a full stack food processing platform providing S4S works with small-holder women farmers also take leadership positions in
convenience food ingredients to the Food & Beverage industry saving energy, farmers to process lower grade produce the village and in their community.
time, and cost for customers. It does so by turning imperfect, lower grade at the farm- gate and earn an assured What stood out to you the most
additional income through processing. S4S about 2022?
produce that would otherwise be lost into food ingredients with a solar- provides an end-end ecosystem for these
In 2022, S4S Technologies was able
powered food processing system.
to demonstrate processing scale
while working with women micro-
entrepreneurs and smallholder farmers.
Working in 250 villages in India with 1400
women micro-entrepreneurs helped us
create value for farmers, women micro-
entrepreneurs, and also our customers.
What keeps you up at night?
Excitement and Anxiety - to deliver more
for our farmers, more for our women
micro-entrepreneurs
our industry?
Accelerated digitization of agriculture
for maximizing visibility & transparency
s4stechnologies.com
of food systems.
eGrocery
Top deals ($ USD)
01 Zepto 06 Deep Rooted
$200m SERIES D $12.5m SERIES A
eGrocery startups bucked the

overall decline in 2022 by raising 02 Licious 07 Fraazo
13% more than in 2021, however
they did so over half the number of
deals hinting at a slow down in new
$150m SERIES F
$6.8m SERIES B
entrants to the market.

The category has become a staple
in app-driven urban households. 03 Country Delight 08 Pluckk
The commitment of on-time,
hassle-free delivery of quality
produce at competitive pricing $108m SERIES D
$5m SEED
has played an important role in
customer retention. As the sector
matures, we expect fewer players
to come to the market, much like
Restaurant Marketplaces, and
04 Fresh2Home 09 Nutrifresh
investor interest will also wane.
$26.7m SERIES C
$5m PRE-SERIES A
05 Akshayakalpa 10 Rozana
$15m SERIES B
$2.5m SEED
Online
Restaurants
& Meal
01 Swiggy
Marketplaces
Top deals ($ USD) $700m SERIES J1
Swiggy’s $700 million late-stage 02 CureFoods

deal boosted overall downstream
funding. There was limited activity
in this category in 2022. The
THIS CATEGORY RAISED
$50m SERIES C
space is currently saturated as

there is little-to-no technological
$775 million
innovation and only a few major MARKING A
players dominating the space. 59% DECREASE 03 Bigspoon
SINCE 2021
$12.6m SERIES A
04 Freshmenu
$7m SERIES A
Top investors
by deal count RANK INVESTOR N0. DEALS COMPANIES FUNDED
01 Omnivore 11 Agrizy, Loopworm, Suite42, Varaha, TractorJunction
02 Ankur 6 Agrizy, VeGrow, Krishify, Myoworks, Stringbio
03 Matrix 5 CaptainFresh, Country Delight, FarMart, Vegrow, Open Secret
04 Avaana 5 FarMart, Eggoz, eekifoods
05 Tiger 3 Captain Fresh, Absolute, UrbanPiper
06 Accel 3 DeepRooted, Produze, Mooofarm, Curefoods
07 NABVentures 3 Eggoz, TraceX, Vilcart
08 Prosus 2 Vegrow, Captain Fresh
09 Axilor 2 Pepper Farms, Dvara e-Dairy
10 General Catalyst 2 Eekifoods, FarMart
11 Lightrock 2 Waycool, DeHaat
12 Sequoia / Surge 2 Absolute, UrbanPiper
13 Omidyar Network 2 FarMart, Krishify

Appendix
Agrifoodtech
category
defintions
Ag Biotechnology Midstream Technologies
On-farm inputs for crop & animal ag including genetics, Food safety & traceability tech, logistics &
microbiome, breeding, animal health transport, processing tech
Agribusiness Marketplaces & Fintech

Miscellaneous
Commodities trading platforms, online input
All other agrifood-related tech
procurement, equipment leasing, farmer fintech
Bioenergy & Biomaterials In-Store Retail & Restaurant Tech

Non-food extraction & processing, feedstock Shelf-stacking robots, 3D food printers,
technology, cannabis pharmaceuticals payment systems, food waste monitoring IoT
Farm Management Software, Sensing & IoT eGrocery

Ag data capturing devices, decision support software, Online stores + marketplaces for sale and delivery of
big data analytics processed and unprocessed ag products to consumer
Farm Robotics, Mechanization & Equipment Home & Cooking Tech

On-farm machinery, automation, drone manufacturers, Smart kitchen appliances, nutrition technologies,
grow equipment food testing devices & home grow kits
Online Restaurants and Meal Marketplaces

Novel Farming Systems
Online tech platforms delivering prepared food and
Indoor farms, aquaculture, insect & algae production
meal kits from a wide range of vendors
Cloud Retail Infrastructure

Innovative Food
On-demand enabling tech, ghost kitchens,
Cultured meat, novel ingredients, plant-based proteins
last-mile delivery robots & services
Premium Branded Foods & Restaurants

Premium food experience including better product
design, formulation, packaging & thematic restaurants
Upstream
Midstream/Both
Downstream
Sources & methodology

DATA POWERED BY
Data Sources & Curation Multiple Financings

Utilizing new advanced machine-learning algorithms and artificial intelligence to help identify and In some cases, Crunchbase displays multiple financings for the same company in the same year.
categorize agrifoodtech startups, our knowledge base has grown to more than 30,000 companies, This can be because a company closes subsequent rounds in the same year, but it can also be the
with new startups and historical data being added each day. result of several closes of the same round. We keep them separate unless they are announced as
one single round.
The raw data for our reports comes from Crunchbase, which gathers publicly-available
information such as press releases and US Securities and Exchange Commission filings, as well Categorization
as crowdsourcing directly from the industry. AgFunder contributes data from its own collection
methods, including private communications with investors and companies. We also collect data AgFunder’s categorization system is designed to capture broad themes across the complex
from partners across the globe to ensure we have the most comprehensive, accurate and curated agrifoodtech value chain. The agrifood sector has a wide supply chain spanning inputs and
dataset and knowledge base of agrifoodtech companies and investments. industrials, farming, logistics, wholesale distribution, processing, retail distribution, and the
consumer. In many cases, technologies such as marketplaces connect different links in the
The raw data is painstakingly curated by the AgFunder team, along with their data partners, supply chain and so in this report we’ve chosen to focus on high-level themes. To assist with the
to ensure they are relevant, accurate, up-to-date, and categorized according to AgFunder’s categorization and to avoid subjectivity, AgFunder first employs over 150 machine learning and
proprietary tagging system. artificial intelligence models to suggest category placement and to help tag the company according
We update and improve our dataset continuously throughout the year, meaning total figures from to the technology and its place in the supply chain. Finally, the AgFunder team manually reviews the
previous years’ reports will shift as our dataset becomes more complete. suggestions for each company, often with significant research and debate among our team.
In 2022, we tightened our definitions of what constitutes an agrifoodtech venture to ensure that Starting with our 2023 Global Agrifoodtech Investment Report, we combined Agribusiness
the emphasis on food and agriculture is core to the business. Marketplaces and Fintech into one category as there is often overlap between the two. We
maintained any fintech tools for retailers or restaurants within the Retail Tech category. Given the
That’s had a recalibrating effect on this year’s investment figures as well as some past data. reduction in funding to food delivery services, in this report we’ve combined Online Restaurants &
Examples include logistics, drones, cloud and any other tech services that may have started in Meal Kits with Restaurant Marketplaces as very similar business models.
agrifood but have since added other sectors or pivoted away from agrifood. We’ve maintained
historical rounds that were raised on an agrifood focus, where we could. We’ve also taken taken a stricter stance on cannabis and CBD-related startups; there needs to
be clear proprietary technology involved. We will not include pure consumer packaged goods
While we are happy to share our findings, we reserve all rights with respect to AgFunder research or pure production, as we wouldn’t include pure production in any other crop. If we believe the
and this report and we require it to be fully and accurately cited when any of the data, charts, or growing facilities are particularly high tech or utilize proprietary technology, we will still include it
commentary are used. in our Novel Farming Systems category. The same goes for processed products; if the extraction
technique is particularly innovative, we’ll include it as a Biomaterials or Midstream Tech startup.
Undisclosed Financings Large vertically-integrated cannabis companies are also excluded.
Of the 133 financings in this report’s curated dataset, 7 were undisclosed and could not be
determined through research or direct sources. We exclude undisclosed financings when
Special Acknowledgement
computing averages and median values. In some cases, we’re able to confidentially obtain Tim Li and the rest of the Crunchbase team for their support and assistance, and to the Omnivore
financing figures directly from investors on the condition they’re only included in aggregate. team for supplying local data and working closely with us on ensuring the accuracy of our
research.
Image credits
Cover Stock Page 7 Agnet Page 22 Tartan Sense
Page 2 Clover Page 8 Ecozen Page 24 Agrizy
Page 4 Stock Page 17 Ecozen Page 26 S4S Technologies
Page 5 Stock Page 19 Loopworm Page 30 Stock
Page 7 Stock Page 21 Varaha

v
@agfunder @agfunder @agfunder @AgFunderVC
Subscribe to our must-read food/ag newsletter and alerts about our funds at
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India AgriFoodTech

Investment Report 2023

The agrifoodtech startup ecosystem in India mirrored the global slump in

TOTAL BIGGEST UPSTREAM

$2.4 billion Agribusiness BIGGEST UPSTREAM DEAL

Partner Omnivore pioneered agritech investing

Omnivore in India and is the only impact investor in

The global economic slowdown

heightened scrutiny on various 200

Total funding billions $ USD

Total number of deals

security. India was not immune to 2

Total investment in 2022 dipped 3 $0.1 $0.2

Total funding billions $ USD

early-stage registered a 46%

$2.5 $1.3 $2.1 $3.6 $2.4

Early (Pre-Seed to Series A) Growth (Series B to C) Late (Series D+)

Number of deals by stage

environment for new entrants in

50 124 143 183 224 133

Early (Pre-Seed to Series A) Growth (Series B to C) Late (Series D+)

STAGE COMPANIES FUNDED RAISES

$2.4 billion Aquaconnect $15m

133 deals 250

Early Growth Late

Investments Funding by supply chain

2018 - 2022 ($ USD) $506

Investment trends did not replicate 3 $35 $617

Total funding billions $ USD

and midstream categories decreased

rise, with a 50% year-over-year

$2.5 $1.3 $2.1 $3.6 $2.4

Upstream Midstream Downstream

Investments Deals by supply chain

have catalysed investments in

124 143 190 230 133

Upstream Midstream Downstream

that are deployed on the farm and $1.1

outcomes from better agricultural 1.2 120

Total funding billions $ USD

Total number of deals

A corresponding 37% decrease in 0.9 90

Almost all categories closed fewer

startups over early or late-stage DEALS

companies. Only in Agribusiness

the number of deals increase.

centric innovations. The deepening -20

made farm automation a crucial

Upstream Midstream Downstream

Startup spotlight What stood out to you the most

amount and median

Total funding millions $ USD

Startup spotlight What stood out to you the most

Top deals ($ USD)

spread in the ecosystem, startups

livelihoods and supply chains.

Startup spotlight What stood out to you the most

Agrizy As a company committed to using the latest

raising a combined $255 million