Varaha, a platform for generating carbon credits, has raised $4 million in seed funding led by Orios Venture Partners.
Omnivore, RTP Global, Better Capital, and angel investors, including Kunal Shah, also participated in the round.
The company plans to use the capital to focus on talent acquisition and expand its operations across South Asia, it said in a statement.
The startup, founded in 2022 by Madhur Jain, Ankita Garg, and Vishal Kuchanur, provides ways for smallholder farmers to generate carbon credits via nature-based solutions that are based on advanced remote sensing analytics, machine learning, and biomass/soil modelling. Varaha is currently working across six Indian states and has signed Memorandum of Understanding with several institutions.
“Varaha’s tech platform creates fully-traceable, high integrity, carbon offsets from nature-based solutions. The sale of such offsets will catalyse climate positive activities, augment the income of smallholder farmers and rural communities, and increase biodiversity,” said co-founder Madhur Jain.
The firm, based out of Gurugram and Bengaluru, is encouraging farmers to adapt regenerative agriculture practices by creating high-quality carbon credits that augment their income while also reducing their operating costs. It facilitates smallholder farmer enrolment, GHG quantification, verification of carbon credits, and sale to buyers looking for high-integrity credits.
“With the undeniable impact of climate change, purchasing carbon credits to offset emissions will soon become a necessity for all commercial entities. We are excited to support and invest in Varaha as they address this large market of identifying, authenticating, and making the credits available for purchase in domestic or global markets by working with India's farmers,” said Anup Jain, managing partner, Orios Venture Partners.
“We are always eager to support innovations that improve farmer incomes while building resilience with climate-conscious practices. Varaha delivers on all counts and we are delighted to support their vision,” Mark Kahn, managing partner at Omnivore said.