Aquapulse Raises ₹45 Crore to Modernize Shrimp Farming and Connect Indian Farmers to Global Markets
Odisha-based aquaculture technology startup Aquapulse has raised ₹45 crore (approximately $4.7 million) in a funding round co-led by NABVENTURES through its AgriSURE Fund and IAN Alpha Fund .
The fresh capital will be deployed to strengthen farm-level technology and disease management systems, expand the farmer procurement network across eastern India, scale processing and export operations, and build working capital infrastructure to support the company’s rapidly growing global business .
📊 The Numbers at a Glance
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Total Raised | ₹45 crore (~$5.3 million) |
| Lead Investors | NABVENTURES (AgriSURE Fund), IAN Alpha Fund |
| Founded | 2023 |
| Founders | Abhishek Dwivedy & Abhilash Dwivedy |
| Headquarters | Bhubaneswar, Odisha |
| Current Farmer Network | Operating across Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal |
| Target Farmer Network | 15,000+ farmers |
| Key Export Markets | China, Vietnam, Japan |
🌱 Solving the Smallholder Farmer’s Problem
Founded in 2023 by brothers Abhishek and Abhilash Dwivedy, Aquapulse operates a technology-enabled procurement platform that directly connects small shrimp farmers with organised domestic and international markets .
Despite India being the world’s second-largest shrimp producer, smallholder farmers often remain disconnected from pricing mechanisms, infrastructure, and end-market access. This fragmentation results in a multi-layered intermediary system, significantly limiting farmers’ share in the final value .
“We didn’t start with a market opportunity but started with a farmer’s problem. The cold chain exists because produce was spoiling. The processing exists because farmers were selling raw shrimp at a fraction of its finished value. The certifications exist because without them, you are locked out of every premium market. This round lets us put all of it together at a scale where it works for the farmer and for the business.”
— Abhishek Dwivedy, Co-Founder, MD & CEO, Aquapulse
🤖 Technology at the Core: AI-Driven Aquaculture
Aquapulse’s AI-driven pre-harvest systems monitor pond-level parameters such as:
- Water quality
- Disease risk
- Feed optimisation
These tools help farmers improve feed conversion ratios (FCR) and consistently enhance output quality .
On the post-harvest side, Aquapulse manages:
- Grading
- Cold chain logistics
- Compliance workflows
Its AI models enable real-time price discovery and assured offtake pricing, improving transparency in an otherwise opaque ecosystem .
🌍 The ‘Aquapreneur’ Model: Pond-by-Pond Transformation
Aquapulse follows an “aquapreneur-led” hub-and-spoke model, where local entrepreneurs manage clusters of shrimp ponds with support in water quality monitoring, feed discipline, disease detection, and harvesting coordination .
“Our job is to make the smallholder shrimp farmer a named, recognised participant in the global seafood chain — not an anonymous input.”
— Abhilash Dwivedy, Co-Founder & Chief Growth Officer, Aquapulse
The company started operations in Odisha and has since expanded into neighbouring aquaculture hubs in Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal, demonstrating the scalability of its aggregation model .
🌏 Why This Matters: India’s Booming Seafood Export Market
India is currently the world’s second-largest shrimp producer and second-largest fish producer. Key statistics include:
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Frozen Shrimp Export Volume (FY25) | 742,000 metric tonnes |
| Frozen Shrimp Export Value (FY25) | $5.18 billion |
| Total Seafood Exports (FY25) | $7.45 billion |
| Seafood Exports (FY26) | ₹73,890 crore (~$8.46 billion) |
| Domestic Shrimp Market (2024) | $9.2 billion |
| Projected Market (2033) | $22.7 billion |
| CAGR (2024-2033) | 10.1% |
Frozen shrimp dominates exports, accounting for over 43% of seafood export volumes and nearly 70% of export earnings . In FY26, India exported nearly 1.97 million metric tonnes of seafood worth over ₹73,890 crore, with frozen shrimp continuing to dominate export earnings .
💼 Investor Confidence in Agritech Innovation
Sarika Saxena, Managing Partner at IAN Alpha Fund, articulated the investment thesis:
“We invest in scalable, execution-driven companies that bridge critical market gaps. Aquapulse stood out immediately due to their deep understanding of the aquaculture ecosystem and a ground-level operational model that drives genuine value for both vendors and customers. By building a seamless ‘farm-to-port’ platform, Abhishek and Abhilash are matching dynamic international demand with unparalleled transparency, traceability, and market access.”
— Sarika Saxena, Managing Partner, IAN Alpha Fund
Ashish Choudhury, CIO of NABVENTURES, added:
“Aquapulse’s ability to combine domain expertise with technology to solve structural inefficiencies in the aquaculture value chain positions it uniquely for long-term value creation. This is precisely the kind of businesses NABVENTURES and AgriSURE are designed to support; one that creates lasting economic value for farmers while building a scalable, sustainable business.”
— Ashish Choudhury, CIO, NABVENTURES
🚀 What’s Next: Expansion Plans and Processing Infrastructure
With the fresh capital, Aquapulse will focus on:
- Strengthening Farm-Level Technology – Enhancing disease management systems and pre-harvest technology at the pond level
- Expanding Farmer Procurement Network – Deepening the aquapreneur cluster model across eastern India
- Scaling Processing and Export Operations – Building a state-of-the-art in-house processing facility to improve quality control and margins
- Building Working Capital Infrastructure – Supporting the company’s rapidly growing global business
This marks the company’s second major funding in recent months. In April 2026, Aquapulse raised ₹25 crore in an ongoing Series A round, also led by NABVENTURES, to set up an in-house processing facility and expand its farmer network .
🔮 The Road Ahead
With approximately ₹70 crore raised in the last two months, Aquapulse is well-positioned to become a leader in India’s aquaculture technology space. The company currently exports shrimp primarily to China, Vietnam, and Japan, while also serving domestic institutional buyers and modern retail channels .
As global demand for traceable, sustainably sourced seafood continues to rise, Aquapulse’s pond-to-port integrated model—combining AI-driven farm management, transparent pricing, and direct market access—offers a scalable blueprint for empowering smallholder farmers while building a globally competitive export business.
“We are not trying to replace the existing value chain overnight. We are trying to organise it — pond by pond, cluster by cluster — so that quality, traceability and farmer income all move in the same direction.”
— Abhishek Dwivedy, Co-Founder, MD & CEO, Aquapulse
For more updates on India’s agritech ecosystem, startup funding, and rural innovation, keep it locked on StartupPoint.in.
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