Zerodha

Indian Entrepreneur@indianentrepreneur

IIT Kanpur-incubated agritech startup ScaNxt has added Zerodha's Rainmatter, SIDBI and Exim Bank as investors. The amount was not disclosed.

Its Bhu-Parikshak product runs chemical-free soil tests using near-infrared spectroscopy and machine learning, while its AgroLens platform handles real-time pest detection and crop advice. The company has reached close to 90,000 farmers and works with over 200 B2B clients across 21-plus states.

Exim Bank noted the backing could help ScaNxt pursue export opportunities as it expands overseas.

Indian Entrepreneur@indianentrepreneur

Bengaluru-based altM has secured $10.3 million in Series A financing, with Rainmatter by Zerodha and Mela Ventures among the newcomers. It converts farm waste like sugarcane bagasse and rice straw into industrial materials.

Ex-Tesla production heads Apoorv Garg and Yugal Raj Jain started the company in 2022. The money will fund expanded manufacturing, R&D and customer testing as it moves past pilot runs into full commercial output.

Three of the six molecules taken to demonstration scale have been picked for pilot plant production, one being a lignin-based SPF booster for suncare.