Participated · Equity · Jan 2020

Carbon Masters India Pvt Ltd (CMIPL) upcycles municipal organic waste into compressed biogas (marketed as Carbonlites CBG) and bio-enriched manure that supports regenerative farming. Operating five plants across Karnataka, Telangana and Tamil Nadu, the company currently processes more than 36,000 tonnes of waste annually. Its CBG is supplied to commercial kitchens, industrial users, transport fleets and city-gas networks, while the fertiliser improves soil health for local farmers. The business develops projects via special-purpose vehicles and joint ventures; one JV with Hasiru Dala Innovations has secured approval to inject biomethane into GAIL’s pipeline. Co-founders Som Narayan and Kevin Houston plan to use new capital to scale biomethane output, expand the fertiliser line, boost plant efficiency and build sales, marketing and R&D teams. Carbon Masters is also preparing a subsequent round to finance five additional SPVs, with Ostara Advisors advising. Board oversight is being strengthened with new representatives from SEEAA and Synchron Group joining.

Participated · Equity · May 2019

VilFresh operates under Laymen Agro Ventures and supplies farm-fresh produce to urban customers. The Coimbatore-based company was founded in 2016 by academician-turned-entrepreneur Selvakumar Varadarajan. It began by purchasing milk from dairy farmers and selling it to customers and has since expanded its assortment. The company now delivers nearly 40 agro-based products. VilFresh plans to use the recent funding to expand operations to five cities, with immediate plans to enter Tirupur and Madurai. The recent ₹1.15 crore angel investment will support that geographic expansion.