Invoice, A Agritech start up Backed by Sequoia Capital’s surge fund, it is in advanced talks to raise $35 million (Rs 264 crore) in a round led by Bertelsmann India, said two people with knowledge of development.

He said the current round of two-year-old startups is valued at $200-$250 million.

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Raised $12 million in Series A funding round last April from investors led by Russian venture capital firm RTP Global, at a valuation of $85-$90 million.

The startup also counts Omidyar Network, Omnivore Partners and Better Capital among its investors. This Sequoia Startup Accelerator Program is part of the second group of 2019 Surge.

Spokesmen for Bijak and Bertelsmann did not respond to emails and messages seeking comment by press time on Monday.

Founded in 2019 by Nukul Upadhyay, Mahesh Jakhotia, Jitendra Bedwal, Daya Rai and Nikhil Tripathi, Bijak is a B2B marketplace for agricultural commodities. The platform enables traders, wholesalers and food processors to keep a ledger of their transactions, access transparent pricing, optimize logistics and improve their working capital cycle.

According to a company release last month, the invoice revenue grew five times during the Covid-19 period. Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) – the value of all transactions on a platform during a given period – also increased manifold, it said.

“From GMV of Rs 50 lakh in October 2019, the platform has hit an annual GMV of Rs 1,200 crore,” it said.

The company has a presence in 27 states/UTs, the release said.

this latest funding there comes a time when

Investor community interest in startups is increasing. Data from data aggregator Venture Intelligence shows that nearly $172 million has been invested in 21 deals so far this year. In 2020, over 20 agritech startups raised a combined total of over $125 million in equity, venture debt and traditional debt rounds.

Sector companies such as Dehat, Reshma Mandi, Bharat Agri, Krishify, Farms, Tartan Sense and Better Harvest have recently raised capital from risk-averse investors.