Matrix-backed FarMart raises $32M Series B

March 30th, 2022. New Delhi: FarMart, India's first SaaS-led food supply platform, secures a $32M Series B round led by General Catalyst, with participation from existing investors, Matrix Partners India and Omidyar Network India. Elluminate Capital acted as the exclusive financial advisor to FarMart on the transaction. This new infusion of funds will fuel the growth of FarMart's digital distribution network across India and export markets. The company also plans to make key investments in R&D, automation and technology.

This announcement comes just 6 months after FarMart's $10M Series A in October 2021 and brings the total capital raised to $48M. Since then, FarMart has established itself as the top agri-retailer SaaS tool in the country - with 60,000 retailers serving 2 million farmers through its mobile app. The company has also scaled its output linkage offering, distributed via its app users, to over 600 districts in India, with 75,000 metric tonnes of high-quality produce sourced till now across 15+ commodities.

FarMart's success lies in its ability to use tech and data to source at scale and use underutilized assets in the food value chain to build a high growth and contribution margin profitable business. By digitizing and incentivizing the rural agri-retailer, FarMart has created a one-stop-hub for farmers to buy input and sell output in close proximity to their farms. This alternative, asset-light, food value chain eliminates the multiple transportation costs, spillages, and time effort involved for both the producer and the end-buyer.

"We have built a retailer-centric solution at the intersection of data, hyperlocal serviceability and underutilized assets. The entire team is driven by the ambition and opportunity to build India's largest food supply platform. I would like to thank General Catalyst and our existing investors for providing us with the thrust to achieve our ambition of building the world's first OS that powers food value chains,' said Alekh Sanghera, CEO and Cofounder, FarMart.

"Farmers have to travel 25-30 kilometers to access a formal marketplace. Leveraging the proximity, social capital and infrastructure of these agri-retailers, we are able to source directly from farmers in a capital efficient and non-linear manner. Removing excessive intermediaries helps in providing better prices to farmers, reduces direct cost and reduces spillages/wastage up to 10-15%', explained Mehtab Singh Hans, Cofounder, FarMart.

"Since we first met Alekh, Mehtab, and the FarMart team we knew they had a unique distribution approach to building India's largest food sourcing SaaS platform. The fast-growing B2B platform activates critical connections between farmers and agri-retailers, enabling millions of farmers to supply fresh produce to consumers all over India, creating powerful, positive change for these stakeholders. We are honoured and excited to be a partner in the FarMart journey," said Deep Nishar, Managing Director, General Catalyst.

"FarMart is revolutionizing the agri-tech ecosystem by enabling agri-retailers to serve farmers better and improve farmer income by providing access to information, advisory, and market linkages. Their ability to scale rapidly using technology while being capital efficient is unique and we are excited to see the key role they play in building a transparent and financially rewarding value chain for farmers and the Next Half Billion,"said Siddharth Nautiyal, Partner, Omidyar Network India.

"FarMart's SaaS-led approach has transformed the way in which farmers and agri-input retailers carry out their business. The business model innovation combined with Alekh & Mehtab's on-ground execution has enabled FarMart to grow rapidly over the last 12 months while being profitable at the contribution margin level. We are super excited to continue to deepen our relationship with FarMart and welcome General Catalyst to the partnership,' said Sudipto Sannigrahi, Principal, Matrix India.

About FarMart:
FarMart enables agri-retailers to serve their farmers better and provide them with market access by building an alternative food value chain that is transparent and financially rewarding for both farmers and businesses. It is building the world's first Operating System powering food value chains to connect Indian farmers to billions across the globe.

About General Catalyst:
General Catalyst is a venture capital firm that invests in powerful, positive change that endures '” for our entrepreneurs, our investors, our people, and society. We support founders with a long-term view who challenge the status quo, partnering with them from seed to growth stage and beyond to build companies that withstand the test of time. With offices in San Francisco, Palo Alto, New York City, London, and Boston, the firm has helped support the growth of businesses such as: Airbnb, Deliveroo, Guild, Gusto, Hubspot, Illumio, Lemonade, Livongo, Oscar, Samsara, Snap, Stripe, and Warby Parker. For more: www.generalcatalyst.com.

About Omidyar Network India:
Omidyar Network India invests in bold entrepreneurs who help create a meaningful life for every Indian, especially the hundreds of millions of Indians in low-income and lower-middle-income populations, ranging from the poorest among us to the existing middle class. To drive empowerment and social impact at scale, we work with entrepreneurs in the private, nonprofit and public sectors, who are tackling India's hardest and most chronic problems.

We make equity investments in early-stage enterprises and provide grants to nonprofits in the areas of Digital Society, Education, Emerging Tech, Financial Inclusion, Governance and Citizen Engagement, and Property Rights. Omidyar Network India is part of The Omidyar Group, a diverse collection of companies, organizations and initiatives, supported by philanthropists Pam and Pierre Omidyar, founder of eBay.

About Matrix Partners India:
Founded in 2006, the firm invests in companies targeting the Indian consumer and enterprise market at the seed, early and early growth stages. Matrix India has invested in several category-leading B2B companies such as OfBusiness (B2B Commerce, fintech), Captain Fresh (a tech-enabled B2B animal protein marketplace), LoadShare (tech-enabled logistics network), Bijnis (B2B fashion & footwear marketplace), Vegrow (B2B marketplace for fruits), and Saveo (B2B e-commerce marketplace for pharmacies).

Other marquee investments include Ola (mobility), Dailyhunt (mobile local language platform), Razorpay (payments), Five Star Business Finance (SME lending), Ola Electric (electric vehicles), Stanza Living (tech-enabled student housing platform), OneCard (mobile-first credit card), DealShare (social commerce platform), Country Delight (D2C dairy & fresh foods brand), Mswipe (mobile POS), GoKwik (e-commerce enablement platform), and Zupee (leading skill-based gaming app) among others. Matrix India has advisory offices in Bangalore, Delhi and Mumbai. Matrix Partners has a global network of funds investing in the US, China and India, with approximately $5 billion under management. Further information is available at www.matrixpartners.in. To know more about our investment philosophy & ideologies, check out the #MatrixMoments podcast series.