Coastal Aquaculture Research Institute Pvt. Ltd, which operates aqua farmers’ network Aquaconnect, on Tuesday said it has secured Series A funding of $15 million (around Rs 127 crore) led by impact investment venture capital firm Lok Capital.
The round also saw participation from a clutch of new and existing investors including Louis Dreyfus Company Ventures, Suneight Investment, Omnivore, AgFunder and Rebright Partners, among others.
The Chennai-based startup will deploy the fresh proceeds to boost its scalable solutions portfolio and expand service offerings.
Aquaconnect, set up by Rajamanohar Somasundaram in 2017, is an online marketplace for fish and shrimp farmers to buy quality aquaculture products directly from manufacturers.
The firm claims to offer probiotics, minerals, feed supplements, disinfectants and aerators with free doorstep delivery across India.
“We have added about 500 aquapartners in the last 12 months and this phygital network has helped us scale phenomenally across six major aquaculture production states. In the next 12 months, we are set to triple our aquapartners’ network across India and optimize our service offerings,” said Somasundaram.
“While Aquaculture might seem like a niche agtech space, it is the sunrise sector in India showing double-digit YoY growth with a $15 billion market opportunity. Aquaconnect, with its deep-tech intervention, has the potential to disrupt the Indian aquaculture value chain and emerge as a key player in the growing blue food segment,” said Hari Krishnan, partner, Lok Capital.
Lok Capital was established in 2004. The firm backs startups and entrepreneurs in segments such as financial services, healthcare and the food and agriculture sectors.
In March, VCCircle had reported that Aquaconnect raised venture debt funding of $8 million from Trifecta Capital.
In August last year, Aquaconnect raised $4 million in a pre-Series A round led by Rebright Partners and Flourish Ventures.