The Pre-Series A funding was led by Ankur Capital with participation from Incubate Fund India and Angel investors.
Seafood Supply Chain (B2B) start up Captain Fresh, has raised $2.3 million (Rs 17.2 crore at current exchange rates) in pre-Series A funding.
Early-stage investor Ankur Capital led the round, Bengaluru-based Captain Fresh said in a statement. Incubate Fund India and some Silicon Valley-based angel investors also participated in the round. Previously, the company had raised seed capital from Nekkanti Group and Sandhya Aqua, which are exporters of frozen shrimp.
Captain Fresh works with brands across retail and trade channels as well as online meat and seafood delivery startups. The Bengaluru-based startup claims to be serving more than 120 retail businesses.
In the press statement about the fund raise, Gowda said, “We started with a simple vision to build a fresh fish and seafood platform that the ecosystem could completely trust and rely on for their daily needs. We want to nurture our retail partners’ businesses by providing full availability, range and high-quality fresh supplies on a daily basis. For suppliers, we want to provide the comfort of working with a trustworthy partner who consistently delivers on payment promises. Our traction and positive customer feedback in the last 12 months have validated the real need for what we are building. It has boosted our confidence in playing an active and critical role in uplifting the overall ecosystem.
Utham Gowda who founded start-up in April 2019 said that it uses technology to supply and deliver high-quality freshwater fish and seafood to retailers across all formats.
Company will invest in technologies like computer vision, IoT, bots, and data analytics to digitise and drive efficiencies across the supply chain. Captain Fresh will also use the funding to expand to new cities and hire people. The company says it currently services more than 120 retail businesses.
“For suppliers, we want to provide the comfort of working with a trustworthy partner who consistently delivers on payment promises. Our traction and positive customer feedback in the last 12 months have validated the real need for what we are building,” Gowda said.
Ankur Capital partner Krishnan Neelakantan said the firm was confident of its investment because of Captain Fresh’s technology-driven business model. “Fresh fish and seafood is an inefficient and unorganized industry, with space for technology and operation excellence to make a positive impact,” Incubate Fund India founder and general partner Nao Murakami added.
