Separator

Agritech Startup Bijak eyes to raise $35 million from Bertelsmann India

Separator
Bijak, an agritech startup funded by Sequoia Capital's Surge fund, is in advanced talks to raise $35 million (Rs 264 crore) in a round headed by Bertelsmann India. According to them, the current round values the two-year-old business at $200-$250 million.

In April of last year, Bijak raised $12 million in a Series A fundraising round headed by Russian venture capital firm RTP Global, at a valuation of $85-$90 million.

Omidyar Network, Omnivore Partners, and Better Capital are among the startup's investors. Surge is the second batch of Sequoia's business accelerator programme for 2019.

Bijak is a B2B platform for agricultural goods founded in 2019 by Nukul Upadhye, Mahesh Jakhotia, Jitender Bedwal, Daya Rai, and Nikhil Tripathi.

Traders, wholesalers, and food processors can use the platform to keep track of their transactions, gain access to transparent pricing, optimise logistics, and shorten their working capital cycles.

Bijak's income increased fivefold during Covid-19. According to the report, the gross merchandise value (GMV) – the total worth of all transactions on a platform over a certain time period — increased by a factor of ten.

“From a GMV of Rs 50 lakh in October 2019, the platform has hit an annualised GMV of Rs 1,200 crore,” it said.

According to the press release, the corporation operated in 27 states and territories. This current round of funding comes at a time when agritech firms are attracting a lot of attention from investors. According to data from Venture Intelligence, a data aggregator, about $172 million has come into the sector so far this year across 21 deals. More than 20 agritech businesses raised more than $125 million in equity, venture financing, and traditional debt rounds in 2020.

DeHaat, ReshaMandi, Bharat Agri, Krishify, Faarms, Tartan Sense, and Better Harvest, among others, have recently raised cash from risk investors.