Exclusive Update! Bijak Agritech Firm Raises Worth $20 Million In Series B

Bijak, an Agritech firm, raised Rs 144.2 crore ($20 million) in a Series B round from new and existing investors. The firm from Gurugram has received new funding after a break of more than 20 months. Surge Ventures, a subsidiary of Sequoia Capital India, Omidyar Network, and others invested $12 million in Bijak's Series A round in April 2020. Entrackr was the first to report on the development. 

Bijak has approved the distribution of 393 equity shares and 2350 Series B preference shares to five investors in order to raise a total of Rs 144.2 crore (about $20 million).

Company Valued $ 82 Million, During Series A Round 

With Rs 98.64 crore, Bertelsman took the lead, followed by Omidyar with Rs 22.8 crore. RTP Global, Surge Ventures, and Better Capital, respectively, have invested Rs 15.2 crore, Rs 5.7 crore, and Rs 1.9 crore. It has received fresh financing at a post-money valuation of Rs 1,225 crore ($163.3 million), according to Fintrackr's estimations. During its Series A round, the company was valued at roughly $82 million.

The company was apparently in talks to raise $35 million at a valuation of $220-250 million.

Bijak Operates In More Than 27 States  

Bijak, a three-year-old B2B trade platform for the agriculture industry, was founded 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 and have access to transparent pricing, logistics, and loans. 

According to the company's website, it operates in more than 27 states, including Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, and Bihar, and trades in over 110 commodities. Following the new allotment of shares, Upadhye now owns 23.85% of Bijak, followed by Jakotia, who owns 13.25% of the company. Rai and Tripathi each own 5.3% of the corporation, while Bedwal owns 2.64%.

Bijak Launched Employee Stock Ownership Plan Worth Rs 65 Crore 

Surge is the company's largest shareholder, with a 13.8% stake, followed by Bertelsmann and Omidyar, each with an 8.1% stake. Bijak also launched an Employee Stock Ownership Plan worth roughly Rs 65 crore for eligible employees last year. Entrackr was the first to report on the development.

More than 3 dozen Agritech businesses raised financing in 2021, according to Fintrackr data.

WayCool Foods, an agri-commerce company, closed a $117 million Series D financing earlier this month, the highest for an Agritech startup in India. Another agritech startup, BigHaat, received Rs 100 crore ($13.33 million) in a new round on Thursday.