Stride Ventures Infuses INR 50 Cr In Agritech Startup WayCool

Delhi-based venture debt company Stride Ventures has infused INR 50 Cr in agritech startup WayCool as a part of its debt funding round. 

With this round, Stride Ventures plans to expand its portfolio of new-age Indian startups that are working in diverse sectors.

Meanwhile, WayCool is looking to utilise funds to make tech-related expansions.

Commenting on the debt funding, Chinna Pardhasardhi, chief finance officer of WayCool, said, “We at WayCool have been taking several tech-driven initiatives to innovate and bolster the Indian food economy. We welcome Stride Ventures to the Waycool family joining us in our journey to build one of the leading food and agritech platforms.”

The latest development comes after WayCool secured $40 Mn from global alternative investment company 57 Stars in June this year. 

Founded in 2015 by Karthik Jayaraman and Sanjay Dasari, WayCool’s platform facilitates retail outlets in getting fresh farm-sourced fruits, vegetables and dairy products. It additionally offers products that ensures the smooth running of supply chains and minimises inefficiencies in managing food quality.

Earlier this year, WayCool acquired the intellectual property (IP) of agritech GramworkX for $2 Mn.  It further planned to invest $1 Mn in GramworkX this year and the remaining $1 Mn in the coming years. 

WayCool is presently managing 1500 tonnes of food every day, according to the statement.

Apoorva Sharma, partner at Stride Ventures, said, “WayCool aims to build one of the leading food development and distribution services companies and impact the lives of 150K farmers. We are excited to be part of their journey and we strongly believe they will continue to grow and disrupt the agriculture industry in India.”

Founded in 2019 by Ishpreet Gandhi, Stride Ventures is a sector-agnostic venture debt fund that focuses on growth-stage startups in India. It is currently leading two funds- Stride Ventures India Fund I and Stride Ventures India Fund II. 

Interestingly, Stride Ventures is one of the most active investors in the first half of 2022. It has infused money into 15 Indian startups such as UNI, BLU, and Faballey, among others.

So far, it has invested over INR 1600 Cr in more than 66 startups working in diverse sectors such as D2C, fintech, logistics, agritech, B2B commerce, healthtech, B2B SaaS, mobility and energy solutions, as shared by the investor. 

At the moment, Indian startups have turned bearish and are seeing a funding winter coupled with market volatility, global supply disruptions and geopolitical tensions. As a result, investors are scrutinising their portfolio companies and resultantly, pressurising startups to cut costs. 

Despite an unfavorable market situation, a slew of startups such as proptech startup BuildNext, edtech startup AntWalk and D2C brand Acefour have recently got investments.