Ex-Swiggy Exec Kedar Gokhale Launches Agritech Startup Orbit Farming

The former vice-president of operations at Swiggy, Kedar Gokhale, has announced the launch of his new agritech venture, Orbit Farming.

With this move, Gokhale aims to build a platform that provides farm solutions to mid-sized Indian farmers holding 2 to 10 hectares of farmland. 

The Swiggy executive has joined forces with Aishwarya Ramakrishnan, Krish-e’s former head of strategy, growth and operations, to launch the initiative. Launched in 2020, Krish-e is an omnichannel marketplace for all agricultural needs. 

Taking to LinkedIn, the erstwhile Swiggy executive announced, “…After an enriching 6 year journey at Swiggy, I am starting up again in a sector that has always fascinated me -> agriculture! Happy to partner with Aishwarya Ramakrishnan in this journey as we zero in on an idea and launch Orbit Farming.”

With the new venture, the duo aims to help mid-sized farmers increase their farm income. “We are building India’s largest farming mechanisation solutions platform enabling mid-sized farms to achieve higher profitability,” Gokhale added in his post.  

Meanwhile, according to Orbit Farming’s LinkedIn page, the startup aims to bridge the gap between traditional farming practices and modern, technology-driven solutions. 

As of now, both Gokhale and Ramakrishnan are actively hiring to build a founding team that could relate to their mission of empowering mid-sized farms.

At Swiggy, Gokhale led hiring, retention, engagement and fleet (delivery partners) sufficiency at the hyperlocal level for Swiggy food and Instamart. 

Before joining Swiggy in 2017, the IIT Bombay alumnus had founded Truce-True Price, an agritech startup, in 2015. 

Ramakrishnan, on the other hand, was engaged with Mahindra’s agritech business, Krish-e, for three and a half years before finally calling it quits in 2022.

With this, the cofounders have joined a growing number of Indian executives leaving their existing company roles to float new ventures. 

Last week, former chief executive of Times Internet Gautam Sinha launched a new artificial intelligence (AI) venture SimpleO.ai. 

More lately, Karthik Gurumurthy, the architect behind Swiggy Instamart, secured $3 Mn (around INR 25 Cr) for his new offline retail venture, Convenio. His new platform will operate in the offline space and will mirror Swiggy.