Even as global crop prices fall, India’s Arya.ag is attracting investors — and staying profitable

Arya.ag, an innovative agritech firm based in India, continues to attract significant investor interest while maintaining profitability, even as global crop prices decline within a turbulent commodities market. The recent Series D funding round, led by GEF Capital Partners, raised $81 million, with more than 70% coming from primary capital and the remainder from secondary share sales. The World Bank has reported a downturn in agricultural commodity prices due to various factors, including extreme weather, rising input costs, trade interruptions, and changes in biofuel policies. These challenges expose businesses to price fluctuations and potential inventory losses. However, Arya.ag appears to be weathering this storm by avoiding direct commodity investments and employing a model designed to mitigate the impact of falling prices. Founded in 2013 by former ICICI Bank executives Prasanna Rao, Anand Chandra, and Chattanathan Devarajan, Arya.ag aims to empower farmers by providing them with more control over the timing and selling of their crops. The Noida-based startup offers strategic storage solutions near farms, enabling farmers to secure loans against their stored grain to address immediate cash flow needs. This connection to a broader marketplace—encompassing agri-corporations, processors, and millers—helps farmers sidestep the pressure to sell at harvest time, when prices typically dip. Arya.ag has carved out a significant niche in the agritech space, aggregating and storing approximately $3 billion worth of grain annually, representing about 3% of India’s national output. The company facilitates around $1.5 billion in loans each year, maintaining a remarkably low bad loan rate of under 0.5%, despite recent price declines. The startup’s approach involves lending only a fraction of the stored grain's value and closely monitoring market prices, which allows for proactive margin calls to mitigate losses. In the fiscal year ending March 2025, Arya.ag recorded net revenues of ₹4.5 billion (approximately $50 million), with revenue in the first half of the current financial year increasing by around 30% year-over-year to ₹3 billion ($33.3 million). The profit after tax reached ₹340 million (around $3.78 million) last year and has surged by 39% in the current year. Currently, Arya.ag reaches approximately 850,000 to 900,000 farmers across 60% of India's districts, operating through a vast network of 12,000 agricultural warehouses that are leased from third parties. The startup generates revenue from farmers for storage services, from banks for originating loans against stored grain, and from buyers for facilitating crop sales. Storage accounts for about 50-55% of total revenue, while finance contributes 25-30%, with the remainder from commerce. Each year, Arya.ag disburses more than ₹110 billion (about $1.2 billion) in loans to farmers, with ₹25 billion to ₹30 billion (roughly $278 million to $333 million) sourced from its own balance sheet through its non-banking finance division. The interest rates for these loans range between 12.5% and 12.8%, significantly lower than the 24% to 36% charged by commission agents, yet slightly higher than the typical bank rates of 11% to 12%. The startup has streamlined loan approvals to under five minutes, with most disbursements occurring digitally. Technology is central to Arya.ag's operations, employing AI for grain quality assessments, utilizing satellite data for monitoring crop health, and leveraging advanced, sensor-equipped storage solutions that enable extended grain preservation, even in areas lacking formal warehouses. With the new funding, Arya.ag plans to further enhance its technological infrastructure, expand its smart farm centers, and strengthen its blockchain-based system for tracking stored grain. This system will enhance transparency in lending and trading transactions, while investments will continue to focus on storage and credit infrastructure. With its latest capital infusion and improving profitability metrics, Arya.ag is now positioning itself for an initial public offering (IPO) within the next 18 to 20 months. Additionally, the company has its sights set on selective expansion beyond India, leveraging a software-led model that has already seen some of its technology implemented in parts of Southeast Asia and Africa. Currently, Arya.ag employs over 1,200 full-time staff, with Avendus advising on the recent financial round.