DeHaat secures $60 million in funding, tops $700 million valuation

Indian agritech firm DeHaat has reportedly raised $60 million in a new funding round as it looks forward to strengthening its footprint in the country and touching break-even profitability in two years. For the unversed, the startup provides a range of services related to agriculture to Indian farmers.

According to sources, Sofina Ventures and Temasek headed the Series E funding for the firm, which is valued at around $700 to $800 million. In addition, existing backers like Lightrock India, Prosus Ventures, and RTP Global Partners also participated in the new round.

Commenting on the latest move, DeHaat's Co-Founder and Chief Executive, Shashank Kumar, stated that in the last two years, the firm has expanded across several important Indian states. Shashank further mentioned that the firm is looking forward to strengthening its footprint in the country zip codes where it operates already, further reaching break-even profitability in 12 months.

Not to mention, the farming industry of India is valued at $350 billion. Farmers still face several challenges in the country that are now being addressed since the establishment of startups like DeHaat.

It is worth mentioning that farmers' main obstacles include agri-inputs, finding buyers for their products, and maintaining enough runway. Climate Change and a fast-growing population imply that Indian farmers must adopt technology quickly to improve and maintain their yields.

Apparently, mega giants like Adani Group and Reliance offer some services to the farmers. However, their involvement in the industry is minimal.

Meanwhile, DeHaat leverages AI (artificial intelligence) to assist 1.5 million farmers across 11 states, 11,000 villages, and around 150 zip codes in India to source raw materials, find credit services and advisories and sell crops.

The startup has onboarded around 2,000 agricultural institutions, including banks, food and consumer goods giants, input manufacturers, and insurance firms. Apart from this, it works with nearly 10,000 micro-entrepreneurs as well, who help the startup run a maze of last-mile supply chains.

Source credit - https://techcrunch.com/2022/11/30/indian-agritech-dehaat-tops-700-million-valuation-in-60-million-funding/