Join our Waitlist for Expert Advice!

[Funding Alert] Vegrow Raises $2.5M led by Matrix Partners India & Ankur Capital The agritech startup also saw the participation of Better Capital, Titan Capital along with other prominent angel investors in the round

By Debarghya Sil

You're reading Entrepreneur India, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media.

Pixabay
Representational

Bengaluru-based agritech startup Vegrow on Tuesday announced it has raised $2.5 million in seed funding from Matrix Partners India and Ankur Capital. The round also saw participation from Better Capital, Titan Capital as well as prominent angel investors including Sanjiv Rangrass, CEO of ITC's Agri Business Division, Rohit MA, Founder of Cloud 9, among others.

The startup founded by Praneeth Kumar, Shobhit Jain, Mrudhukar Batchu and Kiran Naik, is on a mission to build the world's biggest asset-light farm by partnering with small farms on a profit-sharing model.

Vegrow increases the net earnings of partner farmers by leveraging technology across different stages of the farming cycle—it helps them in crop planning, gives them access to quality inputs, monitors their adherence to best practices and ultimately sells their harvest to the right set of buyers.

Commenting on the investment, Praneeth Kumar, co-founder, Vegrow said, "Our collective experience of working on multiple agri initiatives led us to realize that, with the right set of tech interventions, farming can be a highly remunerative business. We validated this hypothesis by farming on our own, and in this process, we also developed a deeper understanding of the nuances of farming."

Shobhit Jain, co-founder, Vegrow added, "From the humble beginning of farming ourselves, we now see a vision of becoming the world's largest farmer. We are partnering with farmers and building value chains for identified commodities. We are investing in farm tech and supply chain tech to help us realise a higher value for our farmers, all of this is rallied around a single point agenda which is to build and serve India's largest farmer community."

Speaking on the latest development, Ritu Verma, co-founder and managing partner, Ankur Capital said, "We are excited to kickoff of our second fund by partnering with Vegrow. We have spent a lot of time in the agtech sector and most solutions do not get to the heart of the challenge - managing demand led production across fragmented farms. The teams' depth of understanding the market, coupled with their approach to use technology to drive the scale is what we feel sets them apart. We look forward to be a part of the next phase of their journey and are excited to be partnering with Matrix and other investors and leveraging their experiences to build the farms of tomorrow."

"Agriculture is one of India's largest industries, and the lack of organization in the space clearly outlines the vast opportunity available. Vegrow's model of aggregating fragmented farms, to help unlock economies of scale with technology-led interventions, significantly increases the earning potential of their partner farmers. We are excited to partner with the founders - Praneeth, Shobhit, Mrudhukar and Kiran, and our co-investors to help build the world's biggest asset-light farm," added Tarun Davda, managing director, Matrix India.

Debarghya Sil

Entrepreneur Staff

Former Correspondent

Data & Recovery

Train Your Company to Avoid Costly Data Breaches With This $30 Bundle

Train in the eight domains of CISSP and protect your business from growing cyber threats.

Thought Leaders

These 3 Trends Will Change What It Means to Be an Entrepreneur in 2025

Here are three entrepreneurship trends from the new Global Entrepreneurship Monitor report that are changing the landscape for the future.

Starting a Business

Schools Fall Short on Teaching Financial Literacy — Here's 3 Ways Parents Can Raise Future Entrepreneurs

Entrepreneurship is not just for adults. Teaching kids the basics of business and finance from a young age will serve them well in life, no matter what path they pursue.

Social Media

Stop Chasing Algorithms — Here's How Creators Can Take Control of Their Content and Monetize on Their Own Terms

Social media platforms promise creators visibility, but the real challenge lies in relying on algorithms for income.

Leadership

Fear is Inevitable. Get Used To It — Here's How the Army Helped Me Through Every Career Change

From combat jumps to job pivots, here's how mastering transitions can help you land successfully in any role — with confidence, preparation and adaptability.