Argus News - Aquapulse Secures ₹25 Crore to Build Integrated Aquaculture Ecosystem

Bhubaneswar, Apr 2: Aquapulse, an integrated aquaculture technology startup, has raised ₹25 crore in its ongoing Series A round led by NABVENTURES Ltd, the venture capital arm of NABARD, through the AgriSURE Fund.

The company aims to build India’s first integrated aquaculture ecosystem and strengthen its farmer-first operating model.

The fresh capital will be used to expand operations, set up a state-of-the-art in-house processing facility to improve quality control and margins, and grow its farmer network from 6,000+ to over 15,000 across Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, and West Bengal.
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Aquapulse also plans to enhance its technology stack, investing in AI-led pre- and post-harvest systems and scaling its transparent pricing model.

Founded in 2022 by brothers Abhishek and Abhilash Dwivedy, Aquapulse operates at the intersection of aquaculture, infrastructure, and technology, addressing inefficiencies in India’s seafood value chain.

Smallholder shrimp farmers often produce export-grade shrimp but remain disconnected from pricing mechanisms, infrastructure, and end-market access.

Aquapulse’s model integrates AI-driven pre-harvest monitoring of pond-level parameters such as water quality, disease risk, and feed optimization, helping farmers improve feed conversion ratios and output quality.

Post-harvest, the company manages grading, cold chain logistics, compliance workflows, and real-time price discovery, ensuring transparency and assured offtake pricing.

Commenting on the fundraise, Co-Founder and CEO Abhishek Dwivedy said, “We didn’t start with a market opportunity but 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. This round lets us scale solutions that work for both farmers and the business.”

India is the world’s second-largest shrimp producer, with frozen shrimp accounting for 43% of seafood export volumes and nearly 70% of export earnings. In FY25, India exported 7.42 lakh metric tonnes of frozen shrimp worth USD 5.18 billion. The domestic shrimp market, valued at USD 9.2 billion in 2024, is projected to reach USD 22.7 billion by 2033.

Abhilash Dwivedy, Chief Growth Officer, added, “We spent years with farmers before boardrooms. Aquapulse was built to solve storage, quality, and processing gaps one at a time. With NABVENTURES backing, we can now scale these solutions meaningfully.”

NABVENTURES CIO Ashish Choudhury highlighted Aquapulse’s deep farmer integration model and ability to combine domain expertise with technology as key reasons for investment. “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,” he said.

AgriSURE, a blended-capital SEBI-registered Category II AIF jointly sponsored by the Ministry of Agriculture and NABARD, focuses on innovative agri-tech startups.

GrowthAlly Advisors acted as the exclusive investment bank for the round. With this funding, Aquapulse is positioning Odisha as an emerging aquaculture hub, building a traceable, quality-driven supply chain that connects Indian shrimp from pond to global markets while ensuring farmer participation in value creation.