Exclusive: DeHaat Raises INR 200 Cr Debt For Geographic Expansion

Agritech soonicorn DeHaat has raised INR 200 Cr (around $23.4 Mn) in venture debt from Trifecta Capital.

DeHaat’s board issued 1,000 non-convertible debentures (NCDs) at INR 10 Lakh apiece to Trifecta Venture Debt Fund – III on April 23 to raise INR 100 Cr, its regulatory filings with the Registrar of Companies showed.

However, in a statement to Inc42, the agritech startup said it received another tranche of INR 100 Cr from Trifecta Capital this month, taking the total funding in the round to INR 200 Cr.

The Delhi NCR-based startup plans to use the funds to clock a 40% year-on-year (YoY) growth in FY26 and drive geographic expansion across business units.

While DeHaat did not disclose its exact valuation, it said it is currently valued between $700 Mn to $800 Mn.  

The startup last raised $60 Mn in its Series E funding round led by Sofina Ventures and Temasek in 2022.

Since its inception, DeHaat has raised over $270 Mn in total funding. It counts Prosus, Peak XV Partners, Lightrock India, and RTP Global Partners among its backers.

DeHaat has been on an inorganic expansion spree over the past few years. In January, it acquired farm advisory platform AgriCentral to expand its suite of digital services for farmers.

In 2023, DeHaat acquired the fruit and vegetable export business of Fresh Fruits for INR 77 Cr. It had forayed into the segment with the purchase of Fresh Field in 2022.

Over the past few years, DeHaat has made several other acquisitions, including Vezamart, Farmguide, Helicrofter and YCook.

Disrupting Farming With Technology

Founded in 2012 by Shashank Kumar, Shyam Sundar Singh, Amrendra Singh, Adarsh Srivastava and Abhishek Dokania, DeHaat is a full-stack agritech platform that connects small farmers with a network of suppliers of farm input and equipment through a phygital model.

The platform aggregates corn, wheat, pulses, rice, wheat, vegetables and fruits from farmers on its network and directly supplies to bulk buyers.

DeHaat aims to empower Indian farmers through each stage of the farming cycle from soil testing to sowing and post-harvesting in terms of logistics and market linkage.

Through its flagship app DeHaat Farmer, the Patna-headquartered startup offers 360-degree agricultural solutions, including AI-based crop advisory content of pest and disease management of major crops, weather reports, local mandi rates, financial services and agri insurance to farmers. 

It also operates 18,000 DeHaat Centres spread across 12 states. A DeHaat Centre is essentially a franchise store, run by company-appointed micro-entrepreneurs, who service farmers in the local vicinity. 

DeHaat also offers financial services and insurance to the farming community. Since its inception, it claims to have catered to more than 13 Mn farmers across India.

The startup boasts a network of over 1,500 stock-keeping units and claims to deliver more than 15,000 orders per day across more than 15 countries. 

DeHaat’s Revenue Touches INR 3,000 Cr Mark In FY25

DeHaat told Inc42 that it closed FY25 with a revenue of about INR 3,000 Cr, up 11% from INR 2,700 Cr in FY24. 

However, it didn’t disclose its bottom line for FY25. DeHaat reported a consolidated net loss of INR 1,331 Cr in FY24, primarily due to a non-cash CCPS fair value adjustment of INR 888.4 Cr. If not for this exceptional item, the agritech startup would have reported a loss of INR 442.6 Cr.

According to DeHaat, it achieved profitability on an enterprise level in FY25 and is on track to achieve full-year profitability in FY26 with a revenue outlook of INR 4,000 Cr.

The State Of India’s Agritech Startup Ecosystem

Over the past few years, the Indian agritech startup ecosystem has grown rapidly, driven by rising digital penetration across the country, recovery from COVID-led supply chain disruptions, growing demand for high-quality produce and increased investor interest.

Leading this transformation are homegrown startups like DeHaat, CropIn, AgroStar, AGRIM, among others, which have embraced IoT-enabled agricultural practices, AI-enabled machines, and other technologies to reshape the agriculture and food sector.

Take, for example, Google-backed agritech startup CropIn. The SaaS-based agritech platform helps farm-to-fork businesses digitise their operations and improve their decision-making process by providing real-time data and insights.

Last year, CropIn partnered with Google Gemini to roll out a real-time GenAI-powered agri intelligence platform to help customers manage farms globally by predicting yields, disease and other insights.

On the other hand, agritech neobanking startup Jai Kisan helps farmers secure loans within 10 minutes, while Delhi NCR-based Intello Labs uses AI and image recognition tools to perform grading and quality checks of agri products.

As per industry estimates, India is home to over 1,500 agritech startups, which have raised over $2.4 Bn since 2014. However, India is yet to mint a unicorn in the agritech space.

As per a report by Avendus Capital, the Indian agritech market is expected to become a $34 Bn opportunity by 2027 from $4 Bn in 2022.

[Edited by: Vinaykumar Rai]