Satellite data analytics startup Satyukt has raised $500,000 (Rs 3.7 crore) in seed funding from Nabventures and Social Alpha.
Nabventures is anchored by Nabard (National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development). It is a venture growth equity fund that invests in agritech, food, agri/rural fintech and rural healthtech and edtech.
Founded in 2018 with a core team of scientists, Satyukt Analytics has developed proprietary algorithms processing multi-satellite imagery integrated with various on-field, weather, and market data points to provide crucial insights on water resources, crop health, and risk monitoring bundled with advisory services to various stakeholders in the agricultural sector.
The company has clients like Robert Bosch, Adani group, Marico, Newport G (UK) and has launched subscription-based B2B (business-to-business) data services targeted at farmers and FPOs (farmer producer organisations).
Founder Sat Kumar Tomer said, “At Satyukt Analytics, our vision is to bring the latest farm-scale data backed by cutting-edge research on remote sensing, at the fingertips of farmers and other stakeholders in the agricultural sector.”
Tomer, a PhD degree holder from the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, floated Satyukt Analytics in order to leverage academic research for solving the problems faced by agriculture globally.
GR Chintala, chairman of Nabard and Nabventures, said, “Satyukt Analytics is one of the few examples of academic research resulting in a successful commercial venture which can generate financial returns to investors and have a significant social impact as well.”
Ankit Bhatnagar of Nabventures added, “The current crop damage assessment system’s reliance on thousands of crop-cutting experiments results in delayed submission of yield data and this, coupled with high insurance administration costs, is the main reason for limitation in the spread of agri insurance.”
Social Alpha is an ecosystem architecture created by the Foundation for Innovation and Social Entrepreneurship to nurture startup teams. The initiative is supported by Tata Trusts.
Satyukt Analytics marks the third deal announcement from Nabventures this month after Unnati Agri Krishitantra.
Nabventures has made 4 investments in startups during the pandemic.