Funding round will support the company’s efforts to develop technologies for food quality assessments and enable the building of a team that will scale its product sales internationally..
Singapore based Novo Holdings announced that it has led an investment in AgNext Technologies Private Limited, a breakthrough agricultural and food technology company enhancing trust along the food chains by innovating artificial intelligence-based food quality assessment technologies.
Founded in 2016 with operations in India and Abu Dhabi, UAE, AgNext Technologies is committed to advancing, scaling, and commercialising an integrated platform for rapid, precise, cost-effective and portable food quality evaluations, benefiting all stakeholders across the agricultural value chain.
By digitising quality assessment, the company is establishing benchmarks for ensuring transparency in food transactions from origination to consumption. The company has built scalable models providing fair pricing in food chains, usage of unadulterated crop inputs, quality-assessed procurement for businesses and consumption of safe unadulterated food across food chains notably in grains, pulses, oilseeds, spices and herbs. AgNext’s solutions also significantly enhance efficiency and profitability within the food ecosystem.
This latest funding round will support the company’s efforts to further develop technologies for food quality assessments and enable the building of a team that will scale its product sales internationally and into new food segments.
The deal also marks the first Asia investment in the planetary health sector for Novo Holdings, supporting its broader strategic goal of making investments that address planetary health and drive the green transition – to feed a growing world population, fight climate change and create sustainable cities.
Dr Amit Kakar, Managing Partner and Head, Novo Holdings Asia, said, “This investment presents an exciting opportunity for Novo Holdings to collaborate with AgNext’s management team in markets with unmet needs, prioritising both organic and inorganic growth in the food and agritech space in the near and long term. With an innovative technology offering, AgNext is poised to capture opportunities to grow its business across various sectors and regions. Further, the company’s focus on unique and customised solutions aligns well with our vision of supporting transformative technologies in the bioindustrial and planetary health sector.”
Navjeewan Khosla, Partner, Novo Holdings Asia, added,”The food quality testing industry in India is driven by solid growth in the broader agricultural industry as well as a growing focus on quality control. With our investment in AgNext, we look forward to working closely with the company on its growth journey, leveraging our expertise and network to drive innovation and sustainable impact in the agritech space.”
Taranjeet Singh Bhamra, Founder and CEO, AgNext Technologies, said,”We at AgNext have been focused on digitising food chains enabling greater transparency and profitability for stakeholders. We are delighted to welcome Novo Holdings as an investor. Their global outlook and deep sector expertise will be valuable in supporting our mission of consolidating and integrating the best technologies for building the next generation in global food chains.”
Deepa Hingorani, Partner, Planetary Health Investments, Novo Holdings Asia, concluded, “Asia offers compelling opportunities for Novo Holdings to scale up its investments in infrastructure within bio industrials and planetary health. By investing in these areas, we aim to support our companies in their growth and ambitions to make an impact on people and planet.”
