[Funding alert] Plant bioscience startup Absolute raises $100M from Sequoia, Alpha Wave, Tiger Global

Absolute Foods, a plant bioscience startup — on Thursday said it raised $100 million in its first institutional funding round from Sequoia Capital India, Alpha Wave Global, and Tiger Global Management.

Founded in 2015 by Agam Khare where Prateek Rawat joined as a co-founder later, the Delhi-headquartered plant bioscience and precision agriculture company will use the capital to strengthen its plant bioscience R&D platform BioX, a Farm Operating System (FARM OS), which works with diverse plantations, and a global trade platform for the produce.

“At Absolute, we are constantly fostering research to drive exponential innovations inspired by biology to create the next agricultural revolution that is resilient and sustainable. This capital helps us with technology expansion, hiring talent, and scaling to newer markets and segments,” said Agam Khare, Founder and CEO, Absolute, in a statement.

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Earlier, the startup had raised equity funding from angel investors, including Nadir Godrej (Chairman and MD, Godrej Industries), Kamal Agrawal (ED of Haldirams), Sanjiv Rangrass (Group R&D Head of ITC), and Kunal Shah (Founder of CRED).

“We aim to provide a seamless experience to farmers by bridging science, technology, and innovation gaps that exist in traditional farming practices," the statement quoted Prateek Rawat, COO and Co-Founder, Absolute.

Absolute claims to operate nearly 100,000 acres of precision farming, with operations across 10 countries.

In a statement, GV Ravishankar, Managing Director, Sequoia India, said, “The team at Absolute has spent years researching every crop and truly understanding why plants grow, behave, and live in certain ways. The Sequoia Capital India team is proud to partner with this visionary team on their path-breaking solutions to bring value to the agriculture economy.”

"Absolute’s AI-driven scientific approach to agriculture creates a meaningful uplift for all participants across the agri value chain. Farmer profitability rises meaningfully, driven by an increase in yield and quality of produce. This allows Absolute to trade globally at healthy margins," said Navroz D. Udwadia, Co-Founder, Alpha Wave Global in the statement.

Absolute’s Farm OS generates actionable insights based on inputs from the likes of sensors, satellite feeds, and others to the farmers for optimal growing conditions throughout the crop cycle. The startup claims these practices help growers increase their yield up to 20 percent, resulting in a nearly 40 percent increase in profitability.