JM Financial PE leads Rs 100 crore round in agritech platform BigHaat

Mumbai: Investors led by JM Financial Private Equity are leading a Rs 100 crore funding in Bengaluru-based agritech firm BigHaat Agro, the company said.

Japanese investor, Beyond Next Ventures, which led BigHaat’s previous round in August 2020, also participated in the fundraise.

Proceeds from the investment will support augmentation of the existing technology infrastructure and accelerate expansion of the firm’s operations, the company said in a statement.


The transaction would be the ninth investment by JM Financial India Fund II.

Set up in 2015 by first generation entrepreneurs – Sateesh Nukala, Sachin Nandwana and Kiran Vunnam, BigHaat functions on a direct-to-farmer model and is leveraging science, data and technology. It provides access to over 7,000 SKUs of inputs, end-to-end crop guidance and market linkages for various commodities.

BigHaat’s technology also allows farmers to diagnose and receive advice on growth and disease related issues.

The company has been catering to the input needs of farmers in over 13,000 pincodes of the country.

“This growth capital infusion and partnership with a seasoned investor like JM Financial Private Equity will help us accelerate our current expansion plans and expand our reach across the Indian hinterlands. We are committed to deepening this relationship with each passing year and to create the first profitable, end-to-end agritech platform in the country,” said Sateesh Nukala, Managing Director, BigHaat.

“We are extremely bullish on the fundamental shift that we are witnessing in the Indian agriculture sector driven by the increased internet and smartphone usage in rural India. It’s the start of a decade-long story and will eventually go on to digitize the oldest, biggest and employment-wise the most important sector of the Indian economy,” said Darius Pandole, MD & CEO, PE & Equity AIFs, JM Financial.

Baring JM-led round, BigHaat has so far raised a total of $3 million from investors such as Ankur Capital, Rockstud Capital and Beyond Next Ventures.