Climatetech start-up Varaha, which helps offset greenhouse gas emissions, has raised $8.7 million as a part of its latest funding round led by early-stage venture capital firm RTP Global. The round also saw participation from existing investors Omnivore and Orios Venture Partners. Japanese cooperative bank, Norinchukin Bank also participated in the round.
The company plans to use the proceeds from the fundraise to strengthen its technology and science function, and expand operations to new geographies in Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa.
Founded in 2022 by Madhur Jain, Ankita Garg and Vishal Kuchanur, Varaha works with intermediaries and on-ground partners and NGOs to help reduce carbon emissions in farming practices, while helping large corporations gain carbon credits or carbon offsets in return.
Varaha helps corporates offset their carbon emissions from everyday operations through helping farmers in India and neighbouring regions release lesser greenhouse gasses and implementing regenerative agriculture practices.
On the agricultural side, the company has enrolled over 7,00,000 acres of land across India, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Kenya. It works with more than 100 partners across these geographies to onboard smallholder farmers, with plans to increase this number by 4X in the next 12-15 months.
“With nearly 24 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions stemming from the agricultural sector, Varaha’s mission to sequester and reduce carbon emissions is more critical than ever,” said Madhur Jain, Co-Founder and CEO of Varaha.
The new raise comes just a year after the company had raised a seed round of $4 million. The seed round was led by Orios Venture Partners, and included participation from Omnivore, RTP Global, Better Capital, and other angel investors like Kunal Shah.