Indian B2B seafood startup nets $40m catch from Tiger Global co-led round

Captain Fresh, a B2B seafood marketplace based in India, has raised US$40 million in a series B round co-led by Tiger Global and Prosus Ventures. Existing investors including Accel India, Matrix Partners India, Ankur Capital, and Incubate Fund also participated in the round.

The Captain Fresh team /Photo credit: Captain Fresh

The startup, which targets India’s growing but fragmented fish and seafood market, leverages technology to streamline the supply process for retailers and help farmers get better prices. Captain Fresh has around 10 distribution facilities and nearly 30 procurement centers in 20 cities across the country.

In the last 12 months, the number of transactions on the platform surged almost 7x while its revenues have grown 6x, the company told Tech in Asia. Captain Fresh currently serves 2,000 customers, up from 300 to 400 customers a year ago. Its supplier base has also increased from 50 to 400 during the same period.

Captain Fresh was launched in 2019 by Utham Gowda, who previously served as executive vice president at Nekkanti Sea Foods.

Gowda told Tech in Asia that his interested in the market began in 2015, when he advised a seafood exporter that was raising funds. His stint with Nekkanti helped him understand how the four-decade-old firm was navigating through the structural complexities of the industry.

Describing the seafood sector as “supply-deprived,” Gowda noted that demand has outpaced supply by a large margin in the last 10 years.

With India’s population and per capita income rising in the coming years, seafood consumption will shoot up faster than other sources of proteins, he added.

Gowda said Captain Fresh is planning to expand its presence to 200 cities across India in the next 12 months. This will include setting up 75 new distribution centers and 140 to 200 procurement facilities. It is also looking to boost its headcount of 250 by 5x to 6x.

Funds from the latest round will be used to improve its technology suite, with a focus on leveraging AI and automation.