Captain Fresh raises $50 Mn in Series C; valuation jumps 50X in a year

B2B animal protein marketplace Captain Fresh has raked in $50 million in its Series C investment round co-led by existing investors Prosus Ventures and Tiger Global. Accel India, Matrix Partners India, Ankur Capital, and Incubate Fund also participated in the new round.

The Bengaluru-based company has raised four rounds within 12 months including $3 million Seed round in March last year followed by $12 million Series A in July and $40 million Series B in December. 

According to Entrackr’s sources, the Bengaluru-based company has picked up the new round at around $500 million valuation. This is a 50X jump in its valuation as compared to Seed round a year ago. As per Fintrackr’s estimates, the company was valued at around $10 million in its maiden funding round, $45 million during Series A and at $200 million at Series B.

Started by Utham Gowda, three-year-old Captain Fresh is a farm-to-retail platform for animal protein--fish, seafood and sheep. It procures directly from the agents or farmers, and supplies across B2B, B2R and B2B2C channels.

The company focuses on aggregating the fragmented retail demand and link it to the small fishermen and farmers throughout the Indian coast. It leverages its bid engine, proprietary quality inspection and satellite technology ensuring match-making of demand and supply.

As per the company, it has a distribution network in more than 20 cities and over 2,500 retail businesses and it eyes Africa, the Middle East and other parts of Asia.

Captain Fresh also claims that it has more than doubled its revenues since its Series B fundraising in December. While the company did not disclose any revenue figures, it recorded operating revenue of Rs 33.14 crore during the financial year 2021. According to the company’s regulatory filings, the majority of its revenue came from the sale of products (animal protein). 

The company also generated around Rs 11 lakh in non-operating income in FY21. During the period ending March 2021, its losses stood at Rs 9.07 crore. It’s worth noting that the company didn’t record any business in FY20.