Omnivore elevates two principals to partner positions

By Joseph Rai

  • 09 Jan 2020
Subhadeep Sanyal and Reihem Roy

Agritech-focused venture capital investor Omnivore, which raised a larger new fund last year, on Thursday said it has elevated Reihem Roy and Subhadeep Sanyal to partners.

Roy and Sanyal, who were both principals at Omnivore, will now be responsible for driving new investments and supporting the growth of portfolio companies, said the venture capital firm in a statement.

Roy, who had joined Omnivore in 2013, will run the Chennai office; and Sanyal, who had joined Omnivore in 2011, will run the Delhi office.

Prior to joining Omnivore, Roy was an associate at social impact fund and incubator Villgro. He had started his career as an analyst at the United Nations International Fund for Agricultural Development. At Omnivore, Roy also serves as environmental, social, and business integrity officer.

Sanyal was a campus hire from IIM Ahmedabad. He is Omnivore’s primary liaison officer with the government and its network of agricultural research institutes.

Omnivore was founded by Mark Kahn and Jinesh Shah in 2010. The impact investor backs Indian startups developing and using technology in the food, agriculture and rural sectors.

In April last year, the venture capital firm marked the final close of its second fund at $97 million (Rs 679 crore), overshooting the initial target of $75 million.

Its investments from the new fund include agritech firm Fasal and aquaculture platform Aquaconnect

Omnivore's first fund had raised $40 million. The first fund has 12 active portfolio companies. These include processed food firm Arohan Foods, on-farm diagnostic equipment maker Eruvaka Technologies and IT services startup Retigence Technologies. Others include Ecozen Solutions, which focuses on applications of distributed power generation for agriculture and rural communities; Y-Cook, which provides quick-serve foods; and MITRA Agri, a farm equipment maker.

Omnivore has partially exited weather forecaster Skymet and dairy Internet of Things company Stellapps.