Captain Fresh said it has raised Rs 250 crore ($29 million) in a pre-IPO funding round led by Prosus Ventures, Accel, and Tiger Global, as the seafood supplier gears up to list on the Indian bourses this year.
The round also saw participation from the family offices of Sriharsha Majety (co-founder of Swiggy); Sid Khanna (chairman of India Equity Partners); Sunjay Kapur (chairman of Sona Comstar) and Shivalik Prints, among others.
Founded by banker-turned-entrepreneur Utham Gowda, Captain Fresh plans to use the funds to strengthen its balance sheet and lay a solid foundation for its upcoming IPO, positioning itself as one of India’s first meat startups to go public.
Its listing comes at a time when the broader meat and seafood delivery sector continues to struggle with funding slowdown and profitability challenges.
The pandemic-driven boom had propelled India’s online meat and seafood sector into the spotlight, attracting heavy venture capital inflows. Startups such as FreshToHome, Licious, TenderCuts, ZappFresh, and Freshr rode the wave of higher online demand, aiming to disrupt the traditionally unorganised meat retail market.
However, as funding dried up and consumer behaviour reverted to offline purchases, most of these companies failed to achieve profitability. Investors, once eager to back rapid expansion, have since shifted focus toward companies with clearer paths to profitability and scale.
Captain Fresh, however, has differentiated itself through its farm-to-retail platform, which aggregates demand for fish, seafood, and other animal proteins and directly links it to farmers and suppliers across India. Unlike its domestic competitors, Captain Fresh has positioned itself as a global seafood supplier.
With over 98% of its demand coming from international markets, Captain Fresh has pursued an aggressive acquisition strategy to expand its distribution in the US and Europe. In July 2024, the company acquired Koral, a Poland-based producer and distributor of branded salmon products. Previously, it acquired Senecrus, a 40-year-old Paris-based shrimp cooker and distributor, as part of its EU expansion strategy.
Captain Fresh had also been in advanced talks to acquire Beaver Street Fisheries, a US-based seafood supplier, signaling its intent to grab market share in the global seafood trade.
Captain Fresh claims to have reported EBITDA profitability for two consecutive quarters and is on track to close FY25 with $550 million in revenue, according to media reports. The company has raised $177 million over 12 funding rounds and was valued at $490 million as of May 2024, according to Tracxn.
