Agri-tech startup Eruvaka gets Series B funding from Dutch firm, Omnivore

Eruvaka, an Internet of Things-based agricultural technology startup, has raised an undisclosed amount in a Series B round of funding from Dutch animal nutrition and aqua feed firm Nutreco and existing investor Omnivore.

Nutreco led the investment, picking up 25% stake in Eruvaka and forging a commercial partnership to help scale it globally, the Vijayawada-based startup said in a statement.

Nutreco’s chief innovation officer Viggo Halseth will join the board of Eruvaka.

The latest funding round comes nearly five years after Eruvaka had received an undisclosed amount in Series A funding from early-stage venture capital firm Omnivore (earlier Omnivore Partners).

The startup was founded in 2012 by Sreeram Raavi, an electronics engineer with a background in semiconductors.
Eruvaka develops connected devices and mobile-based decision tools to help aquaculture farmers reduce risk and increase productivity.

The company’s products allow farmers to monitor pond parameters and remotely control automated equipment. It says these products, which involve the use of cloud analytics and integrated sensors, significantly reduce farming risk while increasing feed efficiency, shrimp growth, and farm profitability.

As part of the deal, Nutreco’s aquaculture division, Skretting, will work directly with Eruvaka to implement its precision farming technology, initially in Latin America.

According to the company, the technology will be incorporated into AquaSim, Skretting’s suite of customised performance tools, to allow local shrimp farmers to remotely ensure accurate dosages of the right feed when their stock requires it, thereby avoiding over- or under-feeding.

“Eruvaka’s products perfectly complement our shrimp feed business and will help us further build scale across Latin America and Asia,” said Nutreco chief executive officer Knut Nesse.

Nutreco has more than 12,000 employees across 32 countries with net sales of 5.9 billion euros in 2016. Its two global company brands Skretting (aqua feed) and Trouw Nutrition (animal nutrition) sell products in more than 90 countries.

Omnivore

Founded in 2010 by Mark Kahn and Jinesh Shah, Omnivore predominantly invests in agriculture and food technology companies in India and those focusing on the rural sector. It has offices in New Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru.

Earlier this year, Omnivore marked the first close of its second venture capital fund at $46 million (Rs 296 crore). 

The venture capital firm had raised its first fund of $40 million in 2012 and 2013 only from Indian investors.
Firms in its portfolio include forecasting services provider Skymet Weather Services, farm equipment maker MITRA Agro Equipments and online milk delivery startup Doodhwala.

A fortnight ago, it invested in Chandigarh-based agri-analytics startup AgNext. 

Deals in the space

Among other recent deals in the agri-tech space, Indore-based Gramophone.in raised Rs 6.4 crore (about $1 million) from Info Edge (India) Ltd last month. 

Around the same time, Bengaluru-based agri-marketing platform Ninjacart raised about $1.1 million (Rs 7 crore) from venture debt firm Trifecta Capital. 

In February, Agricxlab, an agri-tech venture that uses smartphone imaging to assess the quality of agri-produce, raised funds worth $500,000 (Rs 3.2 crore) in a seed round led by early-stage venture capital firm Ankur Capital.