22 investments have happened through all three platforms and the fund in 2024.
ah! Ventures invests in Agrilectric Pvt Ltd, that was founded in May 2022 with the vision of making farming lucrative again by upgrading the existing farm machineries & equipment to be more cost-effective, smarter and easier to use, through its First Gear Platform. ah! Ventures has done 221 investments in 130 startups till date taking its total investment portfolio to Rs 437 crore (54 MN USD) with 17 exits and 55 follow on rounds. 22 investments have happened through all three platforms and the fund in 2024.
Tech advancement in recent years is making it possible for smart electric propulsion system to replace engine-based systems, the switch can be immediate and extremely lucrative when the said engine system is being rented. The Indian farming eco-system consisting mainly of small and marginal farmers, all right within this sweet spot, opening up a huge disruptive opportunity. With our 3 layered strategy of electrify first, smartify second and autonimify third, we hope to elevate the farming experience and make it lucrative again.
The first two products that have been developed are ‘e-negilu”, the patented 5.5 Kw electric tiller and “e-kathri”, the 2 Kw electric weed cutter. Running cost of both of them is less than 10 per cent of a conventional engine-based system, while capable of maintaining the same efficiency of work. The products are state of the art and comes with a host of features like speed/current and torque control, with capabilities of remote monitoring and debugging.
Pushpa Gopal, Founder at Agrilectric says, “Apart from developing our own products, on the soft IP side, we have incorporated our unique S3 (self-stabilising system) & MCSA (motor current signature analysis) tech. The S3 tech basically enables a 55-Year-Old woman or a 20-Year-old man to be able to till the land with the same amount of efficiency, thus empowering almost anyone to be able to do their own tilling, whereas the MCSA allows us to create a digital twin capable of predictive maintenance.
The two products have been made available to the farmers for testing and feedback at various events/fairs and agri institutes, the response has been quite remarkable (Check Our Video) and have actually forced us to prepone our fund-raising plans by around 3-6 months to start commercialization as soon as possible.”
Pushpa Gopal also adds, “We are grateful and thankful to collaborate with AH Ventures who share our vision of empowering small and marginal farmers, enabling and guiding us to traverse the nuances of building a business from scratch up.”
Amit Kumar, Senior Partner at ah! Ventures said, “We are extremely excited to partner with and support Agrilectric’s exciting initiative. The Agri space is ripe for disruption especially on the farm equipment front. I am sure the company with its thorough research and innovative approach will act as a changemaker in this ever-evolving space.” ah! Ventures is one of the world’s largest fundraising platforms for early-stage startups”.
ah! Ventures is one of the world’s largest fundraising platforms for early-stage startups raising up to 10 MN USD. ah! Ventures has three platforms: First Gear, which helps startups raise up to Rs 1 crore (USD 150K), Angel Platform, which helps startups raise up to 1 million USD and High Tables Platform, which helps startups raise 1-10 MN USD.
