Bengaluru-based Agri-tech start-up Aibono has raised $2 Mn funding in its pre-Series A round from investors in Japan and Switzerland.
The funding round was led by Japanese venture capital firms Rebright Partners and Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Venture Capital based out of Tokyo and Singapore respectively; and Swiss Impact Investor Lesing Artha, a subsidiary of Rianta Capital (UK). The company had raised a total of $4.5 million since inception in 2015.
Aibono is a data science company. It integrates the supply chain from farm to consumer. The startup uses data to match demand-supply synchronization, farm analytics, etc., to prevent food wastage, improve agricultural efficiency, as well as stabilize livelihoods of farmers, specializing in perishable vegetables.The Bengaluru based startup is an end-to-end aggregator platform that connects premium perishable vegetables from farm to fork.
With the help of its AI powered full-stack farm services and demand-supply syncing technology, Aibono helps farmers from the Nilgiris and surrounding villages in Tamil Nadu to grow premium perishable vegetables and herbs with better yields. It not only supplies inputs but also gives buy-back guarantee to these farmers.
Founder and CEO Vivek Rajkumar said, “With this round of funding, we will now invest to scale capacity and increase supply to our existing Kirana businesses, expanding to institutional retail, as well as making possible direct-to-home supply of super perishables via modern delivery platforms like Swiggy, Dunzo, and Amazon in the next phase of our growth. We are encouraged and excited that Investor attention is on full-stack solutions starting from seed up to the point of consumption of fresh perishables as high potential businesses.”
Takeshi Ebihara, Founding General Partner of Rebright Partners, said, “With India’s retail demand for fresh farm produce going through the roof, very few players are concentrating on solving pain-points at the ground level for seamless movement of perishables across the value chain. With the government’s focus on opening up farm-gate infrastructure in recent times, we are seeing startups such as Aibono who make full-stack agri-businesses lucrative to invest in. It’s inspiring to see their sustained first, middle, and last-mile E2E operations during the pandemic delivering essential premium and perishables, while demonstrating the best financials among fruit and vegetable platforms.”
Aibono said it will use the funding to expand its connect with 2,000 additional farmers. It will also double the number of retailers who will buy the produce directly from Aibono.