Participated · Series B · Oct 2021

Gramophone began as an agronomy-led agri-input commerce company from Madhya Pradesh and has expanded into a full-stack technology platform offering premium farm-management solutions and Gram Vyapaar, an output marketplace. The company was founded by Tauseef Khan, Nishant Vats Mahatre, and Harshit Gupta (IIT and IIM alumni). Today over one million farmers use Gramophone’s products and services. The startup reports a 4x increase in revenues year-over-year and says it expects aggressive growth. Gramophone plans to invest in geographic expansion, marketing, technology development and M&A. Management emphasizes technologies that lower costs, improve transparency and empower local agri-entrepreneurs. Gramophone offers agronomic insights paired with last-mile delivery of quality farm inputs through a smartphone app and a call center, aiming to democratize knowledge and build transactional transparency for farmers. The company reports serving over 2.5 lakh farmers in the remotest villages across central India through its last-mile delivery model. Founded in 2016 by IIT graduates Tauseef Ahmad Khan, Nishant Vats Mahatre, Harshit Gupta and Ashish Ranjan Singh, Gramophone combines product, data science and logistics to support farmer decision-making and input access. The startup says it will use the new funding to expand across several states and to invest in product, data science and scaling operations. Management positions the business as part of a broader rise in investor interest in Indian agri-tech addressing supply chain and retailing challenges. Gramophone offers end-to-end agronomy services and inputs throughout the cropping cycle, delivered via experts reachable through a toll-free missed-call callback system. The platform uses soil mapping, geo-tagging and imaging solutions to diagnose fields and recommend inputs and practices. Launched in 2016 and based in Indore, the startup serves roughly 60,000 farmers today and aims to grow to close to a million users within 12 months. Gramophone plans to invest in technology development, team building and customer acquisition, and to open a tech centre in Bengaluru to expand its engineering capabilities. The company intends to recruit more technology staff as part of its product and platform push. Its service model combines remote advisory with doorstep input delivery to improve farmer yields.

Led · Series B · Jun 2018

Nepra Resource Management is an Ahmedabad-based company that aggregates and processes dry waste through its 'Let’s Recycle' brand. It has built an organised dry waste supply chain connecting waste generators and collectors to recyclers and has integrated over 1,800 waste pickers into the formal economy. Nepra currently processes 100 tonnes of waste per day in Ahmedabad. The company says its model is modular, scalable and highly replicable. Following the recent fundraising, Nepra plans to expand operations to three more cities and build the foundation for nationwide expansion over the next five years. Management points to favourable policy tailwinds—such as Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, strengthened solid waste management regulations, and extended producer responsibility—that increase demand for organised waste-management enterprises. Nepra Resource Management operates a dry-waste collection and processing business as a social enterprise. The company focuses on sourcing dry waste through a network of informal waste pickers and plans to scale material recovery operations. It expects a Rs.100 crore turnover from dry waste by 2016. Nepra has planned a Rs.70 crore investment in the state and signed a memorandum of understanding at the Vibrant Gujarat business summit. The planned investment includes hiring 10,000 rag-pickers as suppliers for waste collection and setting up a material recycling facility in Gujarat. These actions indicate a growth and formalization strategy aimed at expanding collection capacity and processing infrastructure.

Participated · Equity · Feb 2016

Avanti Learning Centres provides test-preparation services for children from low-income families, combining technology, video content and detailed instructional design with classroom sessions led by subject-matter experts. Established in March 2010 by IIT alumni Akshay Saxena and Krishna Ramkumar, the company operates in 20 cities including Mumbai, Chennai, Delhi and Kanpur. Avanti delivers instruction through a mix of digital content and in-person classes to help students prepare for college entrance tests. The company says it will use the new funding to expand its centres and to develop its curriculum and technology. Prior funding activity includes a Series A in April 2015 of Rs 9.6 crore (~$1.5M) led by MSDF with participation from PALF, Ted Dintersmith and Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation. The article does not disclose revenue or user metrics.