DeHaat starts Series E round led by Sofina Ventures

• ByStartupStory     |    October 21, 2022

DeHaat, a full-stack agritech platform, raised Rs 366.6 crore ($46 million), with the help of Sofina Ventures. This is the company’s second round of funding in a year, with offices in Patna and Gurugram. 

A regulatory filing with the Registrar of Companies reveals that the board of directors at DeHaat approved a special resolution to issue 2,69,192 Series E preference shares at a price of Rs 13,620 per share in order to raise Rs 366 crore, or $46 million. 

Sofina Ventures took the lead in the round with Rs 240 crore, followed by Rs 48 crore from RTP Global Partners, Rs 32 crore from Prosus (Naspers Ventures), and Rs 46.6 crore from Lightrock India.

After the investment, Naspers, RTP Global, and Lightrock India will control 11.04%, 5.22%, and 6.43% of the share capital, respectively, while Sofina Ventures will own 11.73% of the holding. 

The corporation has a post-money value of almost $700 million, according to estimates. In October 2021, Sofina and Lightrock India led a $115 million Series D financing in the business. 

According to reports, the company is in discussions to raise a new round at a unicorn valuation. 

Farmers can obtain specialised inputs, guidance, financial assistance, and market connections from DeHaat. Importantly, it links farmers with large businesses like Reliance Fresh, Zomato, and Udaan for bulk selling as well as independent lenders for their operating cash.

The company currently serves 350,000 farmers in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, and West Bengal and hopes to serve 5 million farmers by 2024. 

DeHaat’s operating revenue increased by 186.2% to Rs 358.3 crore in FY21, despite the company having not yet submitted its financial records for FY22. During the fiscal year, the company lost Rs 54.2 crore in losses annually. 

DeHaat is only second to Ninjacart in terms of valuation, which is valued at $815 million. The estimated market values of Waycool and Absolute are respectively $700 million and $500 million. Ninjacart, which is backed by Tiger Global, raised $9 million in new funding in May, while Wacool earned $40 million in June, lead by 57 Stars Global.Additionally, in May, Absolute disclosed a $100 million funding round from Sequoia, Alpha Wave Global, and Tiger Global. There hasn’t yet been an agritech unicorn in the Indian startup environment.

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