Ecozen, an agritech startup, has raised $10 million from Nuveen Global Fund, which is part of their anticipated INR 200 crore Series C financing.
The board of Ecozen has reportedly approved a special resolution to issue 1,06,657 Series C2 CCPS for INR 7725.67 apiece to generate INR 82.4 crore, or $10 million, per its regulatory filings with the Registrar of Companies (RoC).
Ecozen raised an extra INR 54 crore in its initial Series C fundraising round in June of this year. The venture capital arm of Coromandel International, Dare Ventures, led the investment round. Existing investors Caspian and Hivos-Triodos Fonds (managed by Triodos Investment Management) participated through stock.
EcoZen develops climate-smart deep-tech solutions for the agriculture sector
EcoZen creates climate-smart deep tech solutions and core technology stacks to deliver a sustainable future, including motor controls, IoT, and energy storage. EcoZen was founded by IIT Kharagpur grads Devendra Gupta, Prateek Singhal, and Vivek Pandey.
Ecozen offers Ecofrost and Ecotron solutions for cold chains and the irrigation industry, using these technology stacks to improve the income of over 100,000 farmers and enable the production of over one billion units of renewable energy (kWh).
While more than 70,000 farmers use Ecotron, Ecozen claims to have deployed more than 450 units of Ecofrost.
The agritech startup is valued at about $45 million post-allotment. Following the infusion of new funds, Devendra Gupta and Prateek Singhal, the business’s promoters, now possess a combined 39.92 percent of the company, with Nuveen Global Fund holding the largest interest with 28.90 percent.
For those who are unaware, US-based Nuveen raised $218 million in total in January for its first impact fund focused on private equity.
Operating income for the business increased 66.3 percent and surpassed Rs 110 crore in the fiscal year that ended in March 2022. The Pune-based company’s losses in FY22 shrank by 88.5 percent to INR 37 lakh, putting it extremely close to breaking even.
The company has carried out successful pilot projects outside of India in Southeast Asian and African nations. It aims to raise its topline twice during the current fiscal year (FY23).
Even though the agritech industry has yet to produce a unicorn, the year 2022 ended up being the best for entrepreneurs with an agritech concentration.
