NABVENTURES hits first close of $155M agritech fund
What's the deal? NABVENTURESDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, the venture capital arm of the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARDDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →), has announced the first close of its second fund at US$61.1M. The firm is targeting a total corpus of US$203.7M (roughly $155 million), including a greenshoe option. NABARDDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → is the anchor investor.
What's the endgame? NABVENTURES Fund II will back early and growth stage startups using technology to tackle challenges across the agricultural value chain and rural markets. Target sectors include agritech, food and agribusiness, rural fintech, climate-smart solutions, and supply chain and logistics.
The fund will also focus on businesses working on "sustainability, climate resilience, financial inclusion and livelihood creation," NABARD chairman Shaji Krishnan V said.
Who's behind it? Incorporated in April 2018 as a wholly owned NABARD subsidiary, NABVENTURES also invests via Fund I and AgriSURE. Its portfolio spans 23 startups, including UnnatiDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, Eggoz, Beyond SnackDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, and Jai Kisan.
Earlier this year, it led a US$3.4M Series A round in aquaculture startup AquapulseDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → through its AgriSURE Fund.
Why now? The fund arrives as agritech loses some of its shine. Startups in the sector raised $202 million across 36 deals in 2025, down nearly 25% from $269 million in 2024 — and far below the $728 million and $840 million raised in 2021 and 2022.
What could go wrong? Investors have grown wary of capital-heavy models, high customer acquisition costs, and weak monetisation, particularly among marketplace and logistics-led agritech firms. The broader Indian startup market is cautious too: Q3 funding rose 5% to $2.2 billion, but deal count fell 13% and the active investor pool shrank 24%.
The signal: A state-backed anchor committing to a dedicated agritech fund signals conviction in rural transformation even as private capital retreats. With select bets still landing — Balwaan Krishi raised $10.4 million in September and Ninjacart $6 million in July — NABVENTURES is positioning for a leaner, high-conviction phase of the sector.
Read more: inc42.com
Image credit: theglobalpanorama
