Deep tech startup Ecozen raises $25M led by Nuveen, Dare Ventures

Ecozen, a Pune-based deep tech startup focused on climate solutions, has raised $25 million in combined equity and debt capital. 

The Series C round's equity portion was led by Nuveen and Dare Ventures (Coromandel International), with participation from Export-Import Bank of India (India EXIM Bank), and existing investors Caspian and Hivos-Triodos Fonds (managed by Triodos Investment Management). Early investors in Ecozen—Omnivore and IFA—achieved partial exits in this round.

The debt raise was contributed by Maanaveeya Development and Finance, Oxyzo, Northern Arc group, HDFC Bank, and Axis Bank. 

“As we expand beyond India and agriculture, we will continue to focus on profitable growth and sustainable technology solutions," said CEO and Co-founder Devendra Gupta. "Ecozen will aggressively expand production capacity and product range."

Founded by IIT Kharagpur alumni Devendra Gupta, Prateek Singhal and Vivek Pandey, Ecozen develops smart climate solutions using deep tech for motor controls, internet of things (IoT), and energy storage.

Applying these technology stacks to the agricultural sector, the company said it has generated over a billion units of clean energy (kWh), saved over 20,000 metric tonnes of food loss, and reduced over one million tonnes of GHG emissions.

The startup is also looking beyond the agricultural sector to accelerate the broader energy transition through its deep tech expertise in energy storage, motor controls, IoT, and analytics.

“Nuveen seeks out companies that mitigate climate change, build resilience to its impacts, and provide high quality, affordable products and services to the low-income consumer segment,” said Rekha Unnithan, Managing Director and Co-Head of Private Equity Impact Investing at Nuveen.

“Ecozen has built products that do all three simultaneously—replacing diesel water pumps and fossil-fuel dependent coolers, improving drought resiliency for smallholder farms, and increasing farmer incomes. With Ecozen’s proven expertise in delivering climate-smart technology solutions, while maintaining profitability, together we will exponentially grow their impact globally and beyond agriculture,” she added.