FreshWorld Gets Fresh Funding From Kris Gopalakrishnan & IAN

Kris Gopalakrishnan, cofounder Infosys, has invested undisclosed amount in food tech startup, FreshWorld. The funds raised is planned to be used for scaling the retail network by employing 250 employees, upgrading the electric carts system and improving technology. Further, the company also aims to triple the number of electric carts to 60 by the end of the year.

Gopalakrishnan whose net worth is over INR 9,301 Cr. has invested in FreshWorld along with angel investor Nagaraja Prakasam who led the deal for Indian Angel Network.

FreshWorld is a Bangalore-based startup founded in 2013 by Rajiv Rao. The startup delivers fruits and vegetables straight from farms to homes. It claims to sell fruits and vegetables like a street vendor but by using electric carts. These carts are laced with tablet, printer and communication technologies to provide receipt, track inventory and analyse data to understand customer purchase behavior.

With the idea of electric carts FreshWorld’s founder aims at amalgamating modern science with the art of street vending. Rajiv exclaims his electric cart model a different one as it allows the consumers pick and choose fruits and vegetables as desired while buying from online grocery firms.

Rajiv Rao has an experience of around 20 years in the telecom industry working for companies like Reliance and Tata. However, during his tenure in rural supply chain management company Moksha-Yug he identified the opportunity of working with farmers and selling fruits and vegetables directly to consumers.

On the same line with other grocery items on its list the startups like BigBasket and Ekstop.com have gained familiarity amongst consumers delievering grocery at no time. BigBasket is raising $15Mn to expand its reach whereas Ekstop was acquired by Godrej nature’s basket recently.

Kris Gopalakrishnan dreams of more such ventures that will come out in the form of “Green Carts”. He said, “FreshWorld is in line with my vision of supporting sustainable technologies in solving problems. I feel this is the next-level disruption in the fruits and vegetables industry.”

After bidding adieu to Infosys Goplakrishnan has joined the likes of entrepreneurs and launched incubator, Axilor Ventures, which would invest up to $1 Mn in each early-stage startup. Earlier in the month Kris invested in a Bangalore-based ecommerce platform SellerworX Online Services and Mysuru-based clean energy company Vigyanlabs. With an aim to create the computing revolution Kris has also invested $50 Mn in R&D.