India-based leading agritech venture capital firm, Omnivore Partner has today announced the launch of its third fund, with a target corpus of USD 130 million (INR 1000 crore). The new fund will continue to invest in early-stage startups developing breakthrough technologies for agriculture, food, climate, and the rural economy.
With this new fund, Omnivore expects to make 25 to 30 new investments over the next four years.
Omnivore Fund 3 will have a sharper focus on catalyzing climate action in agriculture, backing startups addressing both climate mitigation (reducing India’s GHG emissions) and climate adaptation/resilience (securing a future for India’s farmers). Along these lines, earlier this year, Omnivore launched the OmniX Bio initiative to provide additional support to agrifood life science startups, initially targeting the fields of agricultural biotechnology, novel farming systems, bioenergy, and biomaterials, as well as innovative foods, including alternative protein. With the new fund, Omnivore aims to deepen the reach and impact of OmniX Bio and help reboot the agrifood life sciences ecosystem in India.
Speaking on the development, Mark Kahn, Managing Partner of Omnivore, said, “For over a decade now, we have been a part of the evolution of the agritech ecosystem in India. Through Omnivore’s investments, we have touched the lives of almost 7 million smallholder farmers, improving their profitability and resilience, while creating value for our investors. We believe agritech is just getting started, and we look forward to supporting a new generation of entrepreneurs building a future for rural India.”
Omnivore currently manages Rs 936 crore across two funds, the most recent having closed in April 2019. Some of Omnivore’s leading portfolio companies include DeHaat, Arya, Reshamandi, Stellapps, AgNext, Bijak, Ecozen, AGRIM, Eruvaka, Pixxel, and Animall.
