Omnivore Capital, a corporate venturing unit of Godrej Group, an India-based agricultural business, has invested in the series A round of India-based weather forecaster Skyline Met Solutions (SkyMet) for an undisclosed sum. It has taken a 33% stake, according to news provider LiveMint.com.
SkyMet started providing weather forecasting to the Hindustan Times in 2003 and has received prior funding from India-based incubator Villgro.
Mark Kahn, a venture partner at Omnivore, said: "Improved meteorology is critical for the future of Indian farming. Given our dependency on the monsoon and the growing impact of climate change, the ability to accurately forecast weather conditions can substantially increase agricultural productivity and profitability. Globally, weather forecasting is a rapidly growing, billion-dollar industry. Skymet is well positioned to transform Indian meteorology and create value across different sectors of the economy."
Omnivore Capital is raising $50m and Godrej’s agribusiness division Agrovet will commit 10% to the fund and act as its general partner, Global Corporate Venturing has previously reported. Omnivore was expecting a first close at R60 crore in September, LiveMint.com said, and was mainly expecting wealthy Indian and US individuals to invest.
Its second close would target development finance and institutional investors, LiveMint.com said.
Omnivore planned to have a portfolio of 10 to 12 investments worth R20 crore to R25 crore each, LiveMint.com said.
Omnivore is planning to make two more investments this year. Jinesh Shah, a partner at Omnivore, said: "Our proprietary deal pipeline is strong and we currently have multiple ag-tech startups under due diligence."