Agritech startup Cropin secures funding from Google, existing backers

Bengaluru-based agritech firm Cropin Technologies has raised Rs 113 crore ($13.7 million) from a set of new and existing investors in a latest transaction. 

While technology giant Google and precision tech firm JSR Corporation participated as new investors, the company’s previous backers, ABC World Asia and Chiratae Ventures also contributed to this round. 

The company will primarily utilise the fresh infusion to expand its recently launched intelligent agriculture cloud platform, with a view to cater to the growing demand for digitization and predictive intelligence in the global agriculture sector. The capital will also help Cropin to expand its presence in new regions and industries. 

“Since its founding in 2010, Cropin has been dedicated to improving the intelligence of food production and maximizing value for all stakeholders in the agricultural ecosystem. By making farms and harvests traceable, predictable, and sustainable, Cropin aims to transform how food is grown,” said Krishna Kumar, co-founder & chief executive officer at Cropin.

Kumar had in recent interaction with TechCircle said that the company would be looking to raise $50-70 million in 2023 to increase its presence in international markets. He said that the firm will be continuing to grow its customer-facing teams across international markets like North America, LATAM, Europe, and APAC. With the latest infusion, the company has raised $46 million so far, in equity funding. 

The company was founded in 2010 by Kumar, a graduate in instrumentation and electronics engineering from Visvesvaraya Technological University. Before setting up the venture, he worked in various roles at General Electric. The startup’s farm management software and apps enable data-driven farming by connecting the various stakeholders of the agri-ecosystem. They provide users with real-time data and insights to improve the financial and operational aspects of agriculture. 

Cropin works with businesses engaged in farming, seed production, agri-input as well as with banks, insurance companies, government bodies, and development agencies.

“I am a believer in technology startups defining new business and revenue models, innovating new products, pioneering technology developments and discovering new markets for growth. Cropin has embodied these values and they are poised to be the largest agritech company globally with their cloud-based SaaS business model,” said Sudhir Sethi, founder and chairman Chiratae Ventures. 

The firm claims that it has partnered with more than 250 business-to-business (B2B) customers and has digitized 16 million acres of farmland, benefiting over 7 million farmers. It highlighted it has a crop knowledge graph of over 500 crops and 10,000 crop varieties in 92 countries that powers Cropin Cloud. 

The company has last raised $20 million in its previous funding round in January 2021 led by Temasek-controlled ABC Impact Asia. 

As per a recent report by venture capital firm Kalaari Capital, the total investments in the agritech industry grew four times in 2021-22, driven by better mobile internet penetration, technology solutions, innovative founders, the adoption of newer supply chains and the government's focus on farm-reforms.