[Funding alert] Agritech startup Smart Farms raises undisclosed amount from angel investors
The startup will invest these funds in bolstering its technology offering, hiring senior-level management as well as to expand its operations.
Gurugram-based agritech startup Smart farms Agritech Pvt. Ltd has raised an undisclosed amount as a part of its angel round from a clutch of angel investors, led by angel investor Sunkara Subba Rao.
According to the startup, it will invest these funds in bolstering its technology offering, hiring senior level management as well as expand its operations.
The startup is also in talks to raise another round of pre-Series A funding from a new set of investors in the coming weeks.
Smart Farms aims to reduce the overall farming cost (by 20 percent) by providing an integrated system, along with an end-to-end logistics solution to the farmers, eliminating all middlemen.
Along with that, the company is also developing a mobile-based application, which will provide guidance and many benefits to the farmers throughout the farming journey. This way the company aims to encourage young farmers to join farming as a profession, thereby contribute to the agriculture ecosystem.
Commenting on the funding, Satish Sehrawat, Founder, Smart Farms, told YourStory,
“With the first round of successful investment, Smart farms will be able to reshape and solve one of the toughest problems in the agri products distribution network through technology. We are already reaching almost 95 percent of farmers in the areas we are operational in. Further, technological advancements are driving new businesses through our zero investment inventory model and access to many agri services at the village level. But this is just the beginning, our first purpose is to utilise this investment in creating a thriving digital economy in rural India. ”
The company also said that it plans to raise Series A round of funding by the end of this year to fuel their growth and expand vigorously.
Apart from this, there have been a couple of other agritech startups that have raised funding this year.
In August, Indore-based agritech startup Gramophone announced it has raised Rs 24 crore ($3.5 million) in Series A funding from Info Edge, Raveen Sastry (Co-founder of Myntra.com), Asha Impact and Better Capital.
Pune-based agritech startup AgroStar raised $27 million in a Series C funding round in March, led by Bertelsmann India. The funding round also saw the participation of existing investors Accel, Chirate Ventures and Aavishkar Bharat Fund.
(Edited by Megha Reddy)