Fasal Raises INR 100 Cr in Series A, Fueling Smarter and Greener Agricultural Practices

We are thrilled to share that Fasal, an AI-powered full-stack horticulture platform, has raised INR 100 Cr in Series A. The funding round saw participation from British International Investment (BII), TDK Ventures, ITI Growth Opportunities Fund, Navam Capital, Aureolis Ventures, and 3one4 Capital, along with all the existing investors.

Fasal, founded in 2018 by Shailendra Tiwari and Ananda Verma, stands as a pioneer in precision horticulture. The company leverages AI, crop science, and IoT, to empower farmers with farm-level, crop-specific insights at every stage. This enables optimal resource allocation (water, pesticides, etc.), boosting farm productivity and ensuring high-quality, traceable produce. Fasal optimises the entire value chain, from field to fork.

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India's Agricultural Paradox: Abundant Output, Untapped Potential

While India boasts significant contributions to global food production across various categories, its yield per capita remains below the top decile. The nation's rapidly evolving demographics necessitate a shift towards diverse and nutritious foods, particularly fruits and vegetables. However, current output heavily leans towards food grains, leaving perishable production lagging behind projected demand by 2050. Optimising land and labour productivity, therefore, becomes an imperative.

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Fasal: Cultivating a Future-Forward Horticulture Industry with Precision Agriculture

Fasal identifies this market gap as a significant opportunity to restore India to its agricultural prominence. The company’s focus lies on addressing critical challenges:

Data-driven decision making: Providing farm-specific, crop-stage-specific insights to optimise resource utilisation and boost yields.

Streamlined supply chains: Minimising post-harvest losses and connecting farmers directly to markets for higher profit margins.

Market access for smallholders: Aggregating produce from fragmented landholdings, enabling economies of scale and improved market access.

Climate-smart agriculture: Promoting sustainable practices for resource conservation and environmental protection.

Fasal empowers farmers with a first-of-its-kind full-stack platform for profitable, sustainable cultivation. It delivers farm-level actionable intelligence powered by plug-and-play solutions that farmers can install themselves. Their user-friendly, patented technology, akin to a doctor's visit for crops, gathers crucial farm data to make informed decisions on irrigation, disease prevention, and more.

Fasal has reduced irrigation water consumption by 82.8 Billion litres, up to 60% reduction in pesticide cost, and up to 40% increase in yield, culminating in inclusion in LinkedIn's coveted Top 20 Startups of 2023.

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Tech-Fueled Horticulture in India and Beyond

Fasal's vision for horticulture is tech-driven, sustainable, and global. They plan to utilise the fresh capital for:

1) Advancing its unique farm IoT-crop intelligence technology to create cross-industry data products for a carbon-negative value chain
2) Scaling its B2B brand, Fasal Fresh, to offer sustainably sourced, traceable produce
3) Driving business growth in India and Southeast Asia to champion sustainable practices globally

“With this capital infusion, we plan to expand Fasal’s presence from 75,000 acres to 500,000 acres and enable our technology to deliver more to the farmers by providing them access to sustainable crop inputs, farm-level crop insurance, and working capital at lower interest rates,” said Shailendra Tiwari, Founder and CEO at Fasal.

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3one4 Capital’s Commitment to a Greener Future

By empowering farmers and revolutionising Indian agriculture with a robust full-stack solution for real-time insights, Fasal emphasises producing better, not just more. The impact is evident in increased yields, improved crop quality, and greater productivity. Fasal is leading the way in shaping the future of horticulture with a vision to unlock its immense potential for the benefit of farmers, consumers, and the national economy.

At 3one4 Capital, Agri-tech has become an increasingly larger part of our climate tech investment focus, and we are thrilled to continue our journey with Shailendra and Ananda on their mission to empower every farmer to grow more, grow better.

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