Singapore-headquartered agritech startup Rize has raised $31 million in Series B funding, comprising $20 million in equity and $11 million in debt, according to its announcement on Thursday.
The equity round was led by BNP Paribas Asset Management Alts, with participation from The Rockefeller Foundation. Existing investors Temasek and Breakthrough Energy Ventures also joined the round, while the debt financing was provided by BIDV, Temasek Foundation, and UOB.
The latest financing brings Rize’s total funding to $47 million since its launch in late 2022.
The company said it will use the proceeds to expand exports, develop AI-powered tools for farmers and field teams, accelerate carbon certification efforts, strengthen its supply chain, and support regional expansion.
Rize works with nearly 17,000 smallholder farmers across more than 50,000 hectares in Indonesia and Vietnam. Over the past two years, the company said its operations have expanded more than tenfold. It has also exported 1,500 metric tonnes of low-emission rice to buyers in Europe, Canada, Australia, and Singapore while seeking to expand into other Southeast Asian markets.
Founded in late 2022 through a collaboration between Temasek, 100×100, and Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Rize operates a rice supply-chain platform that combines agronomic support, technology, and market access to help smallholder farmers adopt more sustainable cultivation practices while supplying low-emission rice to domestic and export markets.
The startup is also developing a carbon business around sustainable rice cultivation. Its projects have received an A.pre ex-ante rating from carbon ratings agency BeZero Carbon and are undergoing Gold Standard certification, with the potential to generate more than one million carbon credits over the next five years.
Rize promotes the Alternate Wetting and Drying (AWD) irrigation method, which it says can reduce methane emissions by up to 50%, lower water use by 20-30%, and increase farmers’ incomes by as much as 30% without reducing crop yields.
“Investment in this next phase will enable us to scale our operations, strengthen market and export access, and invest further in technology to improve decision-making and productivity across the value chain,” co-founder and CEO Dhruv Sawhney said.
Alexandre Martin-Min, head of Natural Capital & Impact Investments at BNP Paribas Asset Management Alts, said the firm backed Rize because it operates at the intersection of sustainable agriculture, carbon finance and verified commodity trading.
“Rize has positioned itself at the intersection of sustainable agriculture, carbon finance and verified commodity trading,” he said, adding that the investment aligns with the firm’s strategy of generating environmental impact while delivering competitive financial returns.
