Ninjacart, an Indian agritech startup that connects farmers to retailers, has raised Rs625 Cr ($89.5m) from New York-based hedge fund Tiger Global, taking its valuation to $320 million, according to the Economic Times.
Tiger Global was one of the most active agrifood tech investors in 2018, investing in nine startups during the year, according to AgFunder Research.
The round follows a $35 million Series B close at the end of last year and adds to Ninjacart’s growing list of high profile global investors, including Syngenta Ventures, Accel, Silicon Valley seed stage fund Trifecta Capital, Mistletoe, and Qualcomm Ventures.
Tiger Global’s investment — which gives the investor a 26% stake in Ninjacart — is the largest farm tech startup investment in India to-date, according to AgFunder data. Also striking is the size of the investment for Tiger Global, which Economic Times writes is “the largest first cheque written by the New York-based investor in an Indian startup, a geography in which it has played a critical role in shaping, given its investment in Flipkart, the country’s largest online retail company.”
Tiger’s investment is likely part of an upcoming Series C, according filings seen by the Economic Times.
Founded in 2015, Ninjacart is using technology to tackle one of the toughest agricultural supply chain problems: fresh produce delivery. The Bengaluru-based startup aims to increase farmers’ incomes, reduce food wastage, introduce competitive prices for retailers, and ensure quality food for all consumers.
Ninjacart currently operates in Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Chennai with a team of 750+. It has a sourcing network of 3000+ farmers across south India and moves fresh produce from farm to over 4,000 retailers in less than 12 hours on a daily basis.
The startup’s Series B round of funding was signposted to help Ninjacart expand to new regions, with a goal of claiming 10 new cities and 200 distribution centers across India, and also to improve the supply chain infrastructure while strengthening its product and tech team.
There are a growing number of startup companies aiming to improve efficiencies in India’s broken supply chain with the use of technology. AgFunder portfolio company DeHaat is a technology-based platform offering end-to-end agricultural services to farmers, including distribution of high-quality agri inputs, customized farm advisory, access to financial services, and market linkages for selling their produce. In dairy, Stellapps Technologies, is using IoT and data analysis to optimize the entire dairy supply chain, including milk production, procurement, and cold chain logistics through the deployment of 26 different types of sensors, automation and machine learning. Stellapps counts the Gates Foundation as an investor, as well as Omnivore, the country’s leading agrifood tech VC.
