Farm digitiser CropIn raises $8 Mn from Chiratae and Gates Foundation

Agritech startup CropIn Technology has raised $8 million in its Series B round of funding from Chiratae Ventures and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

The Bengaluru-based startup is planning to deploy the fresh proceeds towards expanding its ‘SmartFarm’ technology platform in India and overseas. A significant part of the fresh round will also be used in developing its machine-learning-based ‘SmartRisk’ platform.

With a presence in over 29 countries in Asia, Africa, Latin America, and European markets, CropIn counts over 200 customers across global agribusinesses, banks, government bodies, and development agencies in its client base.

Founded in 2010 by Krishna Kumar, CropIn provides a cloud-based software platform to help farmers track their produce and consignments.

One of its product SmartFarm is a customisable mobile app and web interface for farm management deployed across agri-businesses, while AI and Machine-learning based SmartRisk is a predictive and prescriptive solution for risk monitoring, mitigation, and forecasting intelligence.

With the latest funding, CropIn has so far raised a total of $12 million. Previously, it had raised an undisclosed fund from Beenext and others. In August 2016, it raised $2 million (Rs 13.4 crore) from Denmark’s Sophia Investment ApS.

Unlike last year, 2018 has not seen much funding in the agri-tech segment. In 2017, KrishiHub, Gobasco, Gold Farm, EM3 AgriSerives and FarmLink had raised capitals from renowned investors.

For Chiratae, CropIn is the second investment after it rechristened itself from IDG Ventures. Last week, it participated in $6 million extended Series B round in HealthifyMe.

The development was reported by ET.