Navneet Singh Batra, cofounder of Info Edge-backed agritech platform Gramophone, has quit the startup to join fruit supply chain startup Superplum as the CBO. In a LinkedIn post, Batra said, “With this transition, I’m also shifting from the input side of trade to the output side, closer to the consumer and the market. It’s a space I’m excited to explore and build in.” Batra joined Gramophone in 2022 and was elevated Batra to the position of cofounder in 2024.
The development comes following the acquisition of Gramophone by Unnati. In January, Gramophone-backer Info Edge said that its stake in the agritech startup will increase to 50.94% from 39.58% prior to the transfer of the startup’s shares to Unnati. Following this, Info Edge said it would sell its entire stake in Gramophone in exchange for a 15.7% stake in Unnati.
The Naukri parent said it would sell 3.39 Lakh shares in Gramophone to Unnati, valued at ₹91.7 Cr. In return, it was to receive 49.1K shares in Unnati at a price of ₹18,661 apiece. Additionally, the company was to acquire 18,756 shares of Unnati for ₹35 Cr.
Founded in 2016 by Tauseef Khan and Nishant Mahatre, Gramophone is a full-stack agritech platform, helping farmers with purchase of agri products, offering soil health check platform, providing platform to sell their crop digitally, and expert advice. Its solution suite includes Gram Salah, Gram Sabha, Gram Bazaar, and Gram Vyapar. It claims to have onboarded more than 12 Lakh farmers with more than 4 Lakh app downloads.
The startup raised a total funding of about $22.3 Mn from the likes of Z3 Partners, Asha Impact, and Siana Capital prior to its acquisition. On the financial front, it recorded a 68.9% decline in its revenue to ₹98.2 Cr in FY24 from ₹315.7 Cr in FY23, with its net loss decreasing to ₹34.8 Cr during the year. Meanwhile, Superplum is a B2B2C platform which provides a procurement platform for retailers and grocery delivery platforms. It last raised $15 Mn in its Series A funding round in 2024.