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Varaha

Category: AI in Climate / Energy

A climate-tech platform that generates high-integrity carbon credits by incentivizing smallholder farmers in the Global South to adopt regenerative agriculture and nature-based solutions. Varaha was founded in 2022. The company is led by Madhur Jain. Based in Gurugram, India. Team size: 100-250. Total funding raised: $87.7M. Latest round: Series B. Key investors include ["WestBridge Capital","RTP Global","Mirova","Omnivore","Orios Venture Partners","Norinchukin Bank","Better Capital"].

Founded
2022
Headquarters
Gurugram, India
Team size
100-250
Total funding
$87.7M

Value proposition

Connects global carbon markets with smallholder farmers through a transparent, AI-verified pipeline that ensures high-quality carbon removals while increasing farmer income and soil health.

Products and solutions

["Regenerative Agriculture (Soil Carbon sequestration)","Biochar Production (Long-term carbon storage)","Agroforestry & Afforestation projects","Proprietary MRV (Measurement, Reporting, and Verification) Platform"]

Unique value

Focuses on the 'Global South' smallholder landscape, utilizing a full-stack approach to aggregate and verify thousands of fragmented, small-scale farming plots into institutional-grade carbon projects.

Target customer

Fortune 500 corporations with net-zero targets (e.g., Big Tech), carbon credit marketplaces, and smallholder farming communities in South Asia and Africa.

Industries served

["Agriculture","Climate Tech / Carbon Markets","Environmental Services","Corporate Sustainability (ESG)"]

Technology advantage

Leverages proprietary remote sensing AI and machine learning models to automate the MRV process, significantly reducing the cost of verification and ensuring high-integrity data for nature-based carbon removals.

How they differentiate

Varaha utilizes a 'full-stack' approach that combines proprietary remote sensing AI with on-the-ground project development specifically for fragmented smallholder farms. Unlike competitors focused on large-scale Western industrial farms, Varaha specializes in the Global South, integrating soil carbon sequestration with biochar production and agroforestry to create high-integrity, diversified carbon credits.

Main competitors

["Boomitra","Indigo Ag","Agreena","DGB Group"]

Key partnerships

["Carbon Offtake Partners: Google, Microsoft, and Patch","Strategic Investors: WestBridge Capital, Mirova (Natixis Investment Managers), and Norinchukin Bank","Agricultural Partners: Local farming cooperatives and NGOs across India and East Africa"]

Notable customers

["Google","Microsoft","Patch"]

Major milestones

["Named in the 2024 TIME100 Climate list of most influential leaders (CEO Madhur Jain)","Secured major carbon offtake agreements with Google and Microsoft","Achieved profitability in the 2024-2025 fiscal year","Expanded operations across India and East Africa to cover over 700,000 acres"]

Growth metrics

Reported profitability in FY24-25 with over $5M in revenue; scaled to 100-250 employees within three years of founding.

Market positioning

Leading high-integrity carbon removal developer for the Global South, bridging the gap between smallholder farmers and Fortune 500 climate commitments.

Geographic focus

South Asia (India), East Africa (Kenya), and Southeast Asia.

Patents and IP

No registered patents disclosed; relies on proprietary AI algorithms, remote sensing datasets, and specialized soil carbon measurement methodologies.

About Madhur Jain

Madhur Jain has over 15 years of experience in the agricultural and climate sectors. Prior to founding Varaha, he served as the Country Director for India at Precision Development (PxD) and was the Digital Business Lead at Grow Indigo (a joint venture between Indigo Ag and Mahyco). He also held managerial positions at Godrej Agrovet and is an alumnus of IIM Ahmedabad.

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