Seafood provider Captain Fresh, which has been on an acquisition spree in a bid to expand internationally through 2024, has raised Rs 250 crore ($28.7 million) in an ongoing round, as it prepares for an initial public offering (IPO) this year.
Its existing investors Prosus Ventures, Accel and Tiger Global led the round even as some new investors joined its cap table. These include the family office of Swiggy co-founder Sriharsha Majety, India Equity Partners chairman Sid Khanna, Sona Comstar’s Sunjay Kapur and textile maker Shivalik Prints.
“The fresh capital will strengthen the balance sheet and serve as a strong foundation for our upcoming IPO,” said Utham Gowda, founder and group chief executive of Captain Fresh, in a statement.
The capital has been raised in a flat round that values the company at about $500 million.
The latest funding round comes about a month after Captain Fresh secured Rs 100 crore from Motilal Oswal Wealth Ltd in December 2024. It has raised nearly Rs 250 crore in the financial year 2024-25 so far.
The year also saw Captain Fresh expanding its international presence with multiple inorganic bets in the US and Europe. These include its acquisition of Poland-based salmon company Koral in July, which followed its takeover of French shrimp cooker and distributor Senecrus and Illinois-based CenSea.
“We have transformed into a truly global business over the last 24 months, with more than 98% of our demand coming from outside India,” said Gowda. "The US and Europe are driving growth, and we expect this trend to remain as we go deeper into the demand markets," he said.
Five-year-old Captain Fresh also said the group’s gross revenue for the last quarter (Oct-Dec 2024-25) matches revenue for the entire FY24. It expects to end FY25 with $550 million in revenue, up from $200 million in FY24.
"We project $1 billion revenue in FY26, and with this growth momentum we will be placed amongst the top 10 seafood companies in the world by FY27,” Gowda said.
The company also said in the statement it was profitable for the last two quarters but didn’t disclose any numbers. "We expect PAT (profit after tax) profitability this year," Gowda said.
Captain Fresh was founded as a seafood marketplace in 2019 by Gowda. It sources multi-species seafood from the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Ocean regions to meet demand in the US, Europe, and the UAE. The startup is counting on cross-selling different products to fuel its growth going forward, as it consolidates its acquisitions.
The company also counts Evolvence Capital, Z47 (formerly Matrix Partners India) and Ankur Capital among its investors. It had raised $25 million (Rs 209 crore) in a continuing Series C funding round in February 2024.
Previously, the company had raised $20 million in its extended Series C round in September 2023. The round was co-led by SBI Investment and Evolvence and involved participation by a few existing investors, including Accel, Matrix, Prosus and Tiger Global.
In 2022, it raised $50 million in its initial Series C round led by Prosus and Tiger Global, along with the participation of Accel, Matrix, Ankur Capital and Incubate Fund.