The startup said the funds will primarily be used for further technology development, scaling operations, and team building.
Gurgaon-based AgriTech startup Eekifoods today said it has raised Pre-Series A funding from GSF Accelerator. Other investors in this round include Naho Shigeta, Founder and CEO of Infobridge Holdings; Shalin Sanjay Shah, Director at Core91 VC; and a Gulf-based Syndicate. Existing Eekifoods investors; Sumit Jain, Country Head of BirdEye; and Dipesh Palod also participated in the round. The startup said the funds will primarily be used for further technology development, scaling operations, and team building.
Founded in 2019, Eekifoods has developed a unique and proprietary vegetable growing technology, which allows it to produce completely residue-free, Indian, and exotic vegetables and sell them profitably at near-market prices. This has been possible because Eeki’s technology has reduced the cost of growing by as much as 40% for a variety of Indian fruit-bearing vegetables, as compared to other coco-peat-based hydroponics technologies. The startup was founded by Amit Kumar and Abhay Singh, graduates from IIT Bombay.
Eekifoods Cofounder Abhay Singh said, “Eekifoods is borne out of two years of research and development of a unique technology, which focuses on inculcating cutting-edge agricultural techniques that are both sustainable and economically viable. Today, we are able to grow tomatoes, bottle gourd, eggplant, cucumber, and other vegetables and sell them profitably at near-market prices. “We are excited to have the backing of renowned investors like GSF Accelerator at such an early stage, and this funding is a strong validation of our mission at Eekifoods to build the most sustainable agriculture platform in the world.”
Unlike several other hydroponic growers focusing on producing exotic vegetables, Eekifoods also grows popular Indian vegetables like coriander, tomato, eggplant, cucumber, and bitter gourd. Rajesh Sawhney, Founder, and CEO of GSF Accelerator said, “Eekifoods has the most advanced Hydroponics technology developed indigenously by Indian talent. Companies like Eeki are important to the future of Indian agriculture. Eeki provides a leapfrog opportunity to Indian agriculture and its modernization.”
Founded in 2012, GSF is India’s number one technology accelerator, with a portfolio of hits including Whatfix, Slintel, Quizizz, Docsapp, Flinto, Citymall, Gamezop, Well Being, Zen Duty, Khabri, and Vaultedge. The accelerator has also had several successful exits including Little Eye Labs (acquired by Facebook), Dailyrounds (bought by M3 Japan), and Pokkt (acquired by Anymind, Japan) among others. Eekifoods also said it is looking for new farm partners, and the startup in turn will provide them with consistent income via farming-as-a-service. The startup currently has four functional farms in Rajasthan that are remotely managed and controlled by Eeki’s farm IoT. It is looking to set up at least 12 more farms by the end of this financial year and produce 84 metric tons of produce monthly, for sale in the NCR and Rajasthan area.
Source: Business World
