Varaha, a climate tech startup that helps offset greenhouse gas emissions, has made headlines by raising $8.7 million as a part of its latest funding round. The funding round was led by early-stage venture capital firm RTP Global, where existing investors Omnivore and Orios Venture Partners, Japanese cooperative bank, and Norinchukin Bank also participated.

As per the startup, the freshly raised funds will be used to strengthen its technology and science function, increase team strength, as well as invest in growing its supply chain.

The raised funds will also enable the climate tech startup to enter newer geographies over the next 18 months, including East Africa and Southeast Asia regions.

Varaha | Reversing Climate Change

Founded by Madhur Jain, Ankita Garg, and Vishal Kuchanur in 2022, Varaha is a climate tech startup reversing climate change through conscious nature-based interventions. The startup specializes in nature-based solutions, including regenerative agriculture, agroforestry, and biochar projects that promote climate adaptation, biodiversity, water conservation, and increased income for smallholder land stewards.

The climate tech startup works with intermediaries, on-ground partners, and NGOs to help reduce carbon emissions in farming practices while helping large corporations gain carbon credits or carbon offsets in return.

Speaking about the development, Madhur Jain, Co-founder of Varaha, highlighted that India holds 164 million hectares of agricultural land area, which offers a ripe opportunity.

Jain added,

“The idea is to scale and identify the right cropping systems for farmer cohorts and reduce carbon emissions. We do the due diligence by contracting our own staff on ground, which collects data and assesses impact of our intervention practices.”

Varaha helps corporates offset their carbon emissions from everyday operations by helping farmers in India and neighbouring regions, Nepal and Bangladesh, release lesser greenhouse gasses, and implement regenerative agriculture practices.

Statement from the Investor

Commenting on the development, Galina Chifina, Partner at RTP Global’s Asia investment team, highlighted that Varaha sits in the intersection of two of their big thesis around improving the lives of Indian farmers through technology and climate.

Chifina added,

“Our thesis on climate tech is a progress from agritech. And we think climate will be the next big disruptive market globally.”

The climate tech startup works with farmers in Punjab and western UP to – abstain from burning crop residue and improve the microbial strength of crops and soil through biological interventions.

As per Jain, the startup has been contracted to generate 230,000 carbon credits this calendar year. The firm sells these credits to carbon credit marketplaces such as Carbonfuture and Klimate, as well as corporates. At present, Varaha has partnerships with six institutions, including marketplaces. The climate tech startup looks to generate 1.2 million carbon credits by the end of FY25 and 2.8 million carbon credits in FY26.

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