India’s Agritech at inflection point: funding revival, profitable models, and consolidation

Once viewed as one of the most promising startup segments, India’s agritech sector gained strong momentum during 2021 and 2022 supported by active investor interest and government initiatives. This momentum, however, slowed significantly as funding activity declined in the following years, leaving major players such as Ninjacart, DeHaat and WayCool stalled in their growth journey even as  the sector witnessed shutdowns and layoffs. Despite these challenges, agritech is seeing a revival of selective activity with recent large funding rounds led by by Arya.ag’s $80 million and AgroStar’s $30 million raise along with consolidation moves such as the merger of Unnati and Gramophone reflecting efforts to achieve scale and long term sustainability.

Interestingly, farm-to-fork players such as Otipy, Fraazo, and Deep Rooted, which operated in the B2B2C fresh fruits and vegetables segment and had raised significant funding, were unable to build sustainable business models. Despite early traction, these startups struggled to scale efficiently and failed to secure follow-on capital, eventually leading to their closure. It seemed the business as usual approach just didn’t have the legs to carry startups. 

Where startups like Nutrifresh Farms have succeeded, it has been done on the back of genuine innovation, a focus and persistence with one core model, and in the case of Nutrifresh, demand-aligned production rather than consumer-led scale expansion. The company leverages hydroponic technology to grow pesticide-free fruits and vegetables in climate-controlled farms and operates largely on a B2B model. The model has allowed it to carve out a distinct position in a segment with lesser competition, and where a price premium is still possible. It supplies fresh produce to major clients such as Zepto, Swiggy Instamart, Blinkit, McDonald’s, and Spar, while also offering customized salad subscriptions. Notably, Nutrifresh has scaled its business to around Rs 150 crore in revenue with minimal external funding and has remained profitable since inception.

According to data compiled by Entrackr, around 160 agritech startups in India have collectively raised more than $2 billion between January 2020 and 2025. This includes 253 funding deals, with growth-stage startups securing $1.63 billion across 62 deals, while early-stage ventures attracted over $531 million through 191 deals.

While total startup funding since January 2020 has reached around $114 billion, agritech startups have accounted for about 2% of overall venture capital inflows, which shows that the sector still has significant room to grow. With rapid advancements in AI and broader agricultural technologies improving efficiency, traceability, and productivity across the value chain, the funding gap compared with more mature sectors such as fintech, e-commerce, and SaaS points to a strong opportunity for agritech to attract greater investor interest in the coming years.

Year-on-Year funding in Agritech

The period between 2021 and 2022 marked a golden phase for the Indian startup ecosystem, with a sharp rise in venture capital inflows across sectors. Agritech also witnessed its strongest growth during this phase, as funding surged nearly fourfold in 2021 to over $630 million from $155 million in 2020. This momentum continued into 2022, with funding rising by a further 25% to reach $802 million, the highest level recorded by the sector so far.

Following this peak in 2022, investor interest in agritech began to soften. In 2023, funding declined sharply by 78% to $178 million. The sector saw a modest rebound in 2024, with funding increasing by nearly 30%, but this recovery proved short-lived as investments fell again by around 30% in 2025 to $160 million.

Towards the end of 2025 and early 2026, however, signs of renewed momentum have begun to emerge. AgroStar raised $30 million, while Arya.ag secured a large $80 million round earlier this year. B2B food supply startup FarMart is also in talks to raise up to $40 million in a new round. Additionally, following the merger of Unnati and Gramophone, the combined entity is expected to raise a sizable funding round. These developments indicate improving investor confidence, positioning 2026 as a potential comeback year for the agritech sector.

Top funded Agritech startups

A few heavily funded startups continue to dominate the agritech landscape, led by Walmart-backed Ninjacart, which has raised over $370 million to date. Its most recent funding round took place in May 2022, when it secured $9 million at a valuation of $815 million. WayCool and DeHaat follow closely, having raised $307 million and $270 million respectively, with both companies reportedly valued at around $700 million. More recently funded players such as Arya.ag and AgroStar have also emerged among the top-funded agritech startups, having raised $254 million and $150 million respectively.

India has over 110 unicorns across multiple sectors, but the agritech space is yet to produce a unicorn despite being home to several highly funded startups.

The full report is available for download here.

Active agritech investors and govt’s initiatives

Since 2020, the agritech startup ecosystem has attracted strong interest from venture capital firms, private equity players, angel networks, accelerators, and corporates. Among the most active investors is Omnivore, which has backed several notable agritech startups such as Arya.ag, Stellapps, BharatAgri, Fasal, and others.

Other prominent investors in the space include NABVENTURES, Avaana Capital, Accel, Ankur Capital, Z47 (formerly Matrix Partners), Flipkart, Indian Angel Network (IAN), Inflection Point Ventures (IPV), Northern Arc, Stride Ventures, Alteria Capital along with several additional institutional and angel investors. 

Government-backed initiatives have also played a key role in supporting the agritech ecosystem. AgriSURE, a government-backed fund, launched a $90 million fund last year to invest in and support agritech ventures. The government has also rolled out initiatives to boost early-stage agritech innovation. Programs such as the Innovation and Agri-Entrepreneurship Development Programme under RKVY RAFTAAR and the Agri Udaan accelerator provide funding, mentorship, and incubation support to help agritech startups scale.

Top revenue generators and their profitability

Among leading agritech startups, DeHaat reported the highest revenue in FY25, posting gross revenue of Rs 3,010 crore, followed by Samunnati with Rs 2,434 crore. B2B food supply startup FarMart and Flipkart-backed Ninjacart also reported strong scale, recording gross revenues of Rs 1,961 crore and Rs 1,634 crore respectively. However, Ninjacart’s operating scale declined by 19% year-on-year. In contrast, climate-tech startup Ecozen delivered robust performance, registering 2.5X year-on-year growth and achieving revenue of Rs 1,150 crore in FY25.

Despite their large scale, several agritech companies continue to report losses. That said, a few players have demonstrated strong profitability. Arya.ag reported a profit of Rs 34 crore. Nutrifresh Farms, mentioned earlier,  also posted a profit of Rs 14 crore on revenue of Rs 145 crore. Importantly, the company has remained profitable since inception despite raising only Rs 163.5 crore ($20 million) in external funding from SBI Venture Capital Fund - NEEV Fund and others.

Unlike several high-revenue agritech peers that have needed frequent external capital infusion, Nutrifresh’s controlled farming and food processing model spanning cultivation, processing, and B2B distribution has allowed it to control costs and realisations better. As of FY25, the company operates over 53 acres of fully operational farms with more than 170 acres under development and supplements capacity through contract farming, which contributes around 25–30% of total output. That provides a clear runway for future growth that is sustainable as well, since the firm has a lot more flexibility to back ‘farms’ closer to target markets. 

Capital efficiency

In terms of capital efficiency, measured as the revenue generated for every unit of capital invested, New Delhi–based Poshn emerged as the leader. The company posted Rs 923 crore in gross revenue in FY25 and raised only around Rs 66 crore in funding, resulting in a capital efficiency ratio of 14.07.

FarMart followed with a capital efficiency ratio of 4, reporting gross revenue of Rs 1,961 crore. Full stack aquaculture tech firm AquaExchange and Unnati Agri also posted healthy capital efficiency ratios of 2.96 and 2.3, respectively. Other agritech startups such as Samunnati, Sid’s Farm, DeHaat, and Ergos also featured on the list, each reporting positive capital efficiency ratios.

Nutrifresh also demonstrated strong capital discipline among companies which have operating revenue rather than GMV. Its capital efficiency ratio stood at 0.89. It’s worth noting that the Nutrifresh’s project funded through capital raised from SBI is scheduled to be completed by April 2026 and is expected to improve capital efficiency in FY27.

Moreover, Nutrifresh’s capital efficiency is supported by multiple annual crop cycles and integrated post-harvest processing, which improves infrastructure utilisation and output monetisation.

The full report is available for download here.