Exclusive: Waycool raises $20 Mn from existing backers; valuation nears $200 Mn

Agritech startup Waycool has raised Rs 145 crore or close to $20 million in a fresh round from existing backers Lightstone, Lightbox Ventures and Netherland-based FMO Development Bank.

Waycool has approved the allotment of 84,407 Series C 2 preference shares at an issue price of Rs 17,180.46 per share to raise Rs 145 crore, regulatory filings show. Lightsone and Lightbox have put in Rs 61.5 crore each whereas FMO invested Rs 21.7 crore.

In February 2020, the Chennai-based startup had secured $32 million in an equity and debt funding round led by Lightbox. The company also raised $7.8 million in a debt funding round from Samunnati, RBL Bank, and venture debt firm InnoVen Capital in December 2020.

As per Fintrackr’s estimates, Waycool has reached a post-money valuation of Rs 1,400-1,450 crore or $193-199 million after the fresh capital infusion.

Founded in 2015 by Karthik Jayaraman and Sanjay Dasari, WayCool is a business-to-business startup that connects farmers and food producers with restaurants, hotels, among others. The company claims to have a network of 50,000 farmers and it handles 350 tonnes of food products per day across more than 18,000 clients.

WayCool’s revenue from operations saw a surge of 41% to Rs 273.2 crore in FY20 from Rs 193.6 crore in FY19. During the fiscal, the company’s total expenditure increased by more than 51% to around Rs 375 crore. As per the documents filed by Waycool , its operating revenues operating revenue has crossed Rs 241 crore in the first three-quarters of FY21 and is projected to reach Rs 393 crore for the whole fiscal.

The company has spent 319 crore in these 9 months at a loss of Rs 75.15 crore with annual projected losses to reach Rs 97.32 crore during FY21.

WayCool competes with the likes of NinjaCart and Udaan, among several others. However, the company differentiate itself from the competitors as it also supplies fresh farm produce as well as grains to restaurants and retail stores.