Update: Agritech startup BigHaat kicks off pre Series C round

Agritech startup BigHaat has raised $8.4 million in a pre-Series C funding round co-led by Ashish Kacholia and RBA Finance and Investment Company. The round also saw participation of VPK Global, Anshul Anil Goel, Advik Tecnocommercial, Amee Shah Mehta, Rupaben Shailesh Mehta, Viren Ajit Joshi, Rohhan Viren Joshi and Nishchay Goel.

The board at BigHaat has passed a special resolution and has allotted 6,186 compulsory convertible preference shares (CCPS) at an issue price of Rs 1,12,366 each for a consideration of Rs 69.5 crore or $8.4 million, its regulatory filings with the Registrar of Companies show.

Suresh Agarwal (on behalf of RBA Finance and Investment Company) and Ashish Kacholia co-led the round with an infusion of Rs 30 crore each. VPK Global and Anshul Anil Goel invested Rs 3 crore and Rs 1.5 crore, respectively. 

The remaining amount came from the investors mentioned at the beginning of the story.  A BigHaat spokesperson said that the fresh funding came as a part of a pre-Series C round and it will raise a larger round in the coming months.

BigHaat is an agritech startup which provides data-led crop advisory to farmers and helps them with distribution, marketing and operations. The firm also offers agriculture products including seeds, pesticides, fertilizers, pumps, tractors and growth promoters through its marketplace platform.

Post-allotment of the fresh shares, Ashish Kacholia and RBA Finance and Investment Company acquired around 6.4% shares each in the company. JM FInancial remains the largest stakeholder in BigHaat with over 27% stakes. For complete captable and financial performance, head to TheKredible.

BigHaat has raised around $29 million to date. In January 2022, it raised Rs 100 crore led by JM Financial along with existing backer Beyond Next Ventures.

BigHaat has been growing at a rapid pace in the past couple of fiscal years and its gross revenue jumped 5.4X to Rs 643 crore during FY23 as compared to Rs 119.7 crore in FY22. Meanwhile, its losses also spiked 6.2X to Rs 35 crore in FY23 from Rs 5.65 crore in FY22.

Update: The headline and story has been updated to reflect that the fresh funding is a part of pre Series C round (not Series C as mentioned earlier).