[Funding alert] Cold chain startup Inficold raises $900K from RVCF, others

Inficold, a Noida-based startup that provides cold storage solutions, has raised $900,000 (Rs 6.5 crore approximately) in a funding round from RVCF and other undisclosed HNIs as a part of its Pre-Series A funding round. 

The funds raised will be utilised by the startup to expand its overall manufacturing, sales, and servicing capabilities.

''We had started Inficold with the mission to utilise the immense potential of cold chain solutions to increase the output of Indian agriculture. Over the last year, the accelerated growth that we have seen is clear evidence of the viability of our business model. RVCF also believes in the potential of cold chain solutions to transform Indian agriculture,' said Nitin Goel, Co-founder and CEO, Inficold.

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Founded in 2015 by Himanshu Pokharna and Nitin Goel, Inficold claims to have developed a retrofittable thermal energy storage technology for storing cooling in a low-cost medium such as water to ice.

The technology is designed to use solar electric energy to make ice, and later use it for cooling purposes. Inficold’s products enable the application of thermal storage for virtually any cooling needs — be it milk, cold storage, air conditioning, and vaccine refrigeration — without making any major modifications to existing cooling hardware. 

The current product portfolio consists of modular cold storage, instant milk coolers and bulk milk coolers. It provides round the clock cooling with just seven hours of grid/solar power. 

The company's future vision is to permeate in dairy, horticulture, poultry, meat, cold logistics and air conditioning segments across India. Shell Foundation, an independent UK registered charity, has supported the company for the last four years in various product development activities.

The company has installations in more than 17 states of India with a strong presence in northeastern states, including Assam, Meghalaya, and Tripura. Inficold claims that it is aggressively ramping up its production capacity by over 10 times.

The increased capacity will allow the company to cater to the demand with a minimised lead time for the customer, it said. 

The company has also started leveraging the international market and has few installations in the African subcontinent. The company expects sales of over 1,000 units in the next two years with a focus towards providing sustainable cooling solutions for farm-level cooling in the agriculture segment.

“Inficold is focusing on energy-efficient cold chain solutions across India and other markets and has developed innovative products catering to the persistent problem of food wastage and distressed sales. We are excited to collaborate with Nitin and Himanshu in their journey,” added Gaurav Chowdhry, Vice President at RVCF.