Omnivore Sets Up $130 Mn Venture Fund With Fresh Focus On Climate Sustainability

Agritech venture capital (VC) firm Omnivore has launched its third fund, with a target corpus of $130 Mn (INR 1,000 Cr). It is targeting a first close of the new fund by September this year and a final close by June 2023.  

The new fund would continue to invest in early-stage startups developing technologies for agriculture, food, climate and the rural economy, said the company.

Omnivore, which has already backed 35 startups, plans to channelise its new fund in catalysing climate action in agriculture, backing startups addressing both climate mitigation and climate adaptation/resilience. With Omnivore Fund 3, the VC firm expects to make 25 – 30 new investments over the next four years.

A few of Omnivore’s portfolio companies include Bengaluru-based Animall, Reshamandi Patna-based DeHaat, Vijayawada-based Eruvaka, Chandigarh-based AgNext.

Originally founded by Jinesh Shah and Mark Kahn in 2010, the VC firm generally invests in Seed, Pre-Series A, and Series A rounds, with follow-on capital for future growth. Omnivore claims to currently manage INR 936 Cr across two funds, with the Omnivore Partners India Fund 2 having closed at $97 Mn in April 2019.

“We believe agritech is just getting started, and we look forward to supporting a new generation of entrepreneurs building a future for rural India,” said Mark Kahn, managing partner of Omnivore. 

December last year, Omnivore invested an undisclosed amount in agritech startup BioPrime as it launched its OmniX Bio initiative to back early-stage agritech and life science startups, Inc42 reported. 

OmniX Bio was launched to support Indian entrepreneurs who work in the fields of agricultural biotechnology, novel farming systems, bioenergy and biomaterials, as well as innovative foods, including alternative protein.

From enabling agriculture through the Internet of Things (IoT) to providing deep-tech-enabled food quality assessment, agritech startups are making the next new transformation in the Indian agricultural sector. Coupled with that comes the government’s push for the adoption of drones and other modern technologies in farmlands.

In this landscape, Omnivore is looking to further deepen the reach and impact of OmniX Bio, and help reboot the agrifood life sciences ecosystem in India with this new fund. 

Separately, in January, animal husbandry and aquaculture agritech startup Aqgromalin raised $5.25 Mn in a Pre-Series A funding round with participation from Omnivore Partners India, along with Sequoia India’s Surge and Zephyr Peacock India.

Dairy industry-focused neobanking startup Digivriddhi Technologies (DGV) raised $3.1 Mn in a Pre Series A round from Omnivore and Info Edge Ventures in November last year. 

According to a 2021 Inc42 analysis, India’s agritech market is estimated to touch $24.1 Bn by 2025. At the time of publishing the report, it highlighted that India had over 1,000 agritech startups. Between 2014 and H1 2021, agritech startups in the country have raised close to $840 Mn across 165 deals.

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