Absolute Foods Raises $100 Mn From Sequoia Capital, Others

SUMMARY

The funding round was Absolute's first institutional funding round and saw participation from Sequoia Capital India, Alpha Wave Global and Tiger Global

The startup will use the funds to ramp up hiring and expand to newer geographies. The startup will also use the capital to strengthen its three core platforms

The startup claims to have grown its revenue by 12X in the last one year

Agritech startup Absolute raised $100 Mn in its first institutional funding round from Sequoia Capital India, Alpha Wave Global (AWI) and Tiger Global at a valuation of $500 Mn.

The startup will use the funds to ramp up hiring and expand to newer geographies. It will also use the capital to strengthen its three core platforms – bioscience research and development (R&D) platform BioX, Farm Operating System (FARM OS) and its global trade platform for farm produce.

“This capital helps us with technology expansion, hiring talent and scaling to newer markets and segments,” Absolute CEO Agam Khare said.

The startup was founded in 2015 by Khare and was later joined by Prateek Rawat as one of the cofounders in 2018. Absolute controls the whole cycle of agricultural produce, from seed to harvest. Its offering includes artificial intelligence (AI)-driven FARM OS that can be implemented across vertical and open farms which enables farmers to grow crops without using synthetic enzymes.

The startup was incubated as part of Sequoia India’s Surge programme. In March last year, Absolute raised $2 Mn from Sequoia India and a clutch of other angel investors.

The startup said its revenue grew 12X in the last one year and that its fresh produce is served across 10 countries. Highlighting its future plans, Absolute said it is in the process of deploying Farm OS across more than 1,00,000 acres of its precision farm network.

The startup competes with the likes of DeHaat, Gramophone, Bijak, Onato, among others.

According to an Inc42 report, the Indian agritech industry was estimated to be worth $24 Bn in 2020. Of this, the tapped market size was estimated to be a mere $204 Mn.

The sector has attracted a lot of interest from marquee investors in recent times and seen a slew of funding announcements. In April, New Delhi-based agritech startup Poshn raised $3.7 Mn in a seed funding round led by Prime Venture Partners and Zephyr Peacock.

Another agritech startup Eeki Foods raised $6.5 Mn in its Series A funding round led by General Catalyst in April this year. In February, AGRIM raised $10 Mn in its Series A funding round led by Kalaari Capital.