Agritech-focused venture capital company Omnivore on Tuesday said it was selling Eruvaka to Nutreco.
Vijayawada-based Eruvaka develops aquaculture pond management solutions that are cloud-based, and include real-time monitoring as well as smart feeders. Nutreco, which is a global leader in aquaculture and animal nutrition, acquired a majority stake in Eruvaka. The acquisition will enable the former's acquaculture business 'Skretting' to deliver on-farm software as well as smart equipment globally to shrimp farmers.
Eurvaka was launched by Sreeram Raavi, an engineer who had work experience in semiconductors. Omnivore invested in it a year later in 2013. Raavi began building Internet of Things (IoT) solutions to improve the profitability of shrimp farmers globally after realising that they struggled with pond management. In a few years, the demand for the startup's technology solutions increased across many places, including Honduras, Ecuador and Mexico.
Eruvaka has been profitable from the 2018-2019 fiscal year and it has delivered compound annual revenue growth of 168.5 percent since FY18.
Talking about the company's exit from Omnivore, Raavi said he was thankful to Omnivore for believing in his company and guiding them. “I am extremely grateful to my incredible team in Vijayawada, who believed in the vision and persevered to make Eruvaka a global leader in precision aquaculture technology. I have absolute faith that Eruvaka will thrive under the leadership of Nutreco, bringing digitization and sustainability to aquaculture farms across the world,” he said.
Omnivore's Managing Partner Mark Kahn said Eruvaka is an amazing example of the Make in India initiative, delivering cutting edge agritech solutions to aquaculture farmers globally. "With Nutreco acquiring Eruvaka, the Indian agritech ecosystem has seen its first large exit, and many more will follow in the coming years. This is a very proud moment for Omnivore, Eruvaka and for agritech in India," Kahn said.
Nutreco's CEO Fulco van Lede too expressed gratitude to everyone whose expertise and vision brought Eruvaka to where it is today, including its employees, its founder and Omnivore. "We are looking forward to further develop and grow Eruvaka together with its great team," Nutreco's CEO said.
