Mumbai-based VNF Ideas Pvt. Ltd, which operates agri-tech startup FreshVnF, has raised around Rs 14 crore ($2 million) in a funding round led by Equanimity Ventures.
Ahmedabad-based venture capital firm GVFL and the family office of Asian Paints Ltd non-executive vice chairman Manish Choksi also invested, FreshVnF said in a statement.
FreshVnF runs a machine learning-driven technology platform that creates market linkages for farmers by streamlining the supply chain. It helps hotels and restaurants procure fruits and vegetables online with a data-driven inventory and replenishment platform.
FreshVnF co-founder Atul Kumar said the capital will help the company grow its farm network, build its technology platform for seamless supply chain operations at scale, and achieve its goal of providing farm produce to customers within 16 hours of harvesting.
FreshVnF will work aggressively to increase its retail footprint and service over one lakh retail customers in western India, Kumar added.
The company was started in 2018 by IIT and IIM graduates Atul Kumar, Vikas Dosala, Sumit Rai and Aashish Krishnatre. It is operating in Mumbai, and claims to deliver 15 tonnes of products a day. It has 300 outlets on board, including new-age restaurant chains.
The company is looking to get more than 5,000 clients on board and an operating volume of 100-plus tonnes per day within a year.
FreshVnF joins a bunch of agri-tech ventures such as LeanAgri, TartanSense and Ninjacart that have raised funding this year. Last month, in one of the biggest deals in the segment, US-based Tiger Global Management invested $90 million in Ninjacart.
Investors
Equanimity Ventures is an early-stage venture capital firm that was founded in 2017 by Rajesh Sehgal, formerly with US-based Franklin Templeton Investments. It counts emerging markets guru Mark Mobius as a member of its investment committee.
In February last year, Equanimity marked the first close of its debut fund at Rs 70 crore ($10.8 million). The fund has a target corpus of Rs 200 crore, including a greenshoe option of Rs 100 crore. The fund is sector-agnostic but plans to back early-stage tech startups in sectors such as fin-tech, health-tech and data analytics.
It has invested in companies including online event venue booking platform BookEventZ.com, fintech startup Sqrrl and medical supplies marketplace DrStore. Earlier this month, the VC firm led a Series B round of funding in Peel-Works Pvt. Ltd, a grocery business-to-business (B2B) commerce platform.
GVFL, formerly known as Gujarat Venture Finance Ltd, is one of the oldest VC firms in the country. It has raised eight venture capital funds over the past two decades and has backed more than 85 companies.
