Agritech start-up Intello Labs, which provides quality certification for perishable farm products using digital tools, on Wednesday said it has raised USD 5.9 million (about Rs 45 crore) from investors including Saama Capital for new technology and future growth.
The Gurugram-based company had earlier raised Rs 20 crore.
The series A funding round was led by Saama Capital, alongside global agritech funds GROW (Singapore) and SVG Ventures THRIVE (USA). Existing investors Omnivore and Nexus Venture Partners also participated in this round, Intello Labs said in a statement.
When contacted, Intello Labsco-founder and CEO Milan Sharma said the funds will be utilised mainly for new technology and expansion.
"This funding will help us accelerate growth in international markets, specifically the USA and across Asia Pacific. There has been a significant spike in interest from these markets over the past few months, which was further accelerated by COVID-19, and now we have the firepower to go after these opportunities," he said.
He declined to share the revenue figure of the company, but said it is growing at a rapid pace.
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"Through use of digital technologies, we assess the quality of fruits and vegetables, bringing transparency and standardisation in fresh produce ," Sharma said.
Besides sorting and grading of fresh produce, technology helps in checking intrinsic parameters like pesticides residue and moisture.
The technology is being used by corporates engaged in food business, like Reliance Fresh, and they pay a monthly subscription, Sharma said.
The company aims to become the de facto quality platform across fruit and vegetable value chains for trading, procurement, grading, pricing, traceability, and marketing, the statement said.
Intello Labs was founded in 2016 by Milan Sharma, Nishant Mishra, Himani Shah and Devendra Chandani. The first three co-founders studied together at IIT Bombay, while Devendra is a postgraduate from MDI Gurgaon.
Intello Labs' clients include fresh produce growers, packers, aggregators, exporters, processors, foodservice, and retailers.
Its clients include Reliance Fresh, Dole, Ocean Spray, and many of the leading e-grocery companies in China and Southeast Asia.
The company has developed a suite of digital products that leverage AI tools, including computer vision and deep learning.