Climate Tech Startup Varaha Nets $8.7 Mn To Help Reduce Carbon Emissions In Farming Practices

Climate tech startup Varaha has raised $8.7 Mn (INR 72.1 Cr) as a part of its Series A funding round led by RTP Global.

The round also saw participation from existing investors Omnivore and Orios, with Japanese cooperative bank, Norinchukin Bank, AgFunder and Octave Wellbeing Economy Fund.

The startup plans to deploy the fresh proceeds to improve its tech and science capabilities, expand Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa operations and meet the growing demand for carbon credits.

The funding comes over a year after Varaha raised a seed round of $4 Mn led by Orios Venture Partners, with participation from Omnivore, RTP Global, Better Capital, and other angel investors like Kunal Shah.

Founded in 2022 by Madhur Jain, Ankita Garg and Vishal Kuchanur, Varaha generates carbon credits through its tech solutions. 

The startup helps farmers follow regenerative agricultural practices by creating carbon credits that increase their income and reduce operational costs.

Varaha’s platform enrols smallholder farmers, quantifies greenhouse gases (GHG), verifies carbon credits, and sells these credits to buyers. 

It claims to have enrolled over 700,000 acres of land in India, Bangladesh, Nepal and Kenya, working with more than 100 partners to onboard smallholder farmers. 

The startup also aims to increase this number by fourfold in the next 12-15 months.

Varaha competes against the likes of EKI Energy and Nuture.farm. 

“Today’s funding is a testament to our commitment to drive impactful change. With the support of our investors, we’re poised to roll up our sleeves and accelerate our efforts, empower smallholders, integrate cutting edge technology, and foster sustainable practices,” Jain said.

Galina Chifina, partner, RTP Global Asia, said, “The visionary and unique approach of Jain and his team to generating carbon credits through nature-based solutions has the potential to become a game-changer for the industry.”

According to Inc42 data until November 2023, funding for Indian climate tech startups has reached $4 Bn since 2014, slightly surpassing the $2.7 Bn raised by 2016. 

Inc42 revealed that the interest in the climate tech space has started getting more diverse with more experiments now increasing across these sub-sectors, including such as green hydrogen, agrifood and life sciences encompassing sustainable agriculture and food production, circular economy involving recycling, sustainable aviation fuel, low-carbon cement, water conservation, among others.

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