Varaha, an India-based climate tech startup, has raised $20 million in fresh funding. This investment is the first part of a planned $45 million Series B round led by WestBridge Capital, marking the venture firm’s first investment in climate tech. Existing investors RTP Global and Omnivore also participated.
Founded in 2022, Varaha has now raised about $33 million in equity to date. This is alongside $35 million in project financing and $500,000 in grants. The company is using the capital to scale carbon removal projects from the Global South and establish itself as a lower-cost supplier for verified emissions reductions.
India has become an important base for carbon removal projects due to lower operating costs, deep agricultural supply chains, and a large pool of technical talent. This is especially relevant as corporate demand for verified carbon removals rises, including from companies facing growing energy use from data centers and AI workloads. Varaha aims to capitalize on these advantages, arguing its execution-focused model delivers carbon removal at a lower cost while meeting the same international verification standards as higher-priced competitors in Europe and North America.
The company’s advantage lies less in proprietary technology and more in execution, according to co-founder and CEO Madhur Jain. He argues that high operating costs could constrain carbon removal developers in wealthier markets as prices face pressure. Jain states that if carbon credits are a cost on a business’s balance sheet and not just a CSR item, then a geography with production costs 1.5x to 3x higher will make survival extremely hard for those companies.
Varaha develops carbon removal projects across four main pathways: regenerative agriculture, agroforestry, biochar, and enhanced rock weathering. It works largely with smallholder farmers and industrial partners in emerging markets. The startup generates and sells verified carbon removal credits through international registries including Puro.earth, Isometric, Verra, Gold Standard, and Switzerland-based Carbon Standards International.
To date, Varaha has removed more than 2 million tons of carbon dioxide across 14 active projects, generating around 150,000 carbon removal credits. Jain added that the startup was the first in India to issue carbon credits from biochar projects and the first in Asia to issue credits from enhanced rock weathering through an international registry.
Varaha reported revenue of ₹430 million (about $4.76 million) last financial year from delivered credits and expects revenue to rise to nearly ₹2 billion (around $22.15 million) this year, while remaining profitable after tax.
The startup has signed long-term offtake agreements with global buyers including Google and Microsoft, as well as corporates such as Lufthansa, Swiss Re, and Capgemini.
Varaha currently operates across India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, and Ivory Coast, working with about 170,000 to 175,000 farmers over roughly 1.7 million acres. The latest funding will be used to expand into additional markets in South and Southeast Asia, including Vietnam and Indonesia, while deepening its presence in existing geographies.
The company is also rolling out an Industrial Partners Program. This allows industrial operators with access to sustainable biomass and gasification capacity to generate verified biochar-based carbon removal credits using Varaha’s measurement, reporting, and verification systems. The program is already operational with partners in West Africa and India, including agribusinesses and a steel producer, as Varaha looks to scale carbon removal through partnerships rather than owning all assets itself.
Jain emphasized that the scale of the climate problem means technology will become open source over time, so execution is what matters most.
Varaha employs about 225 to 230 people, including roughly 55 across technology, science, product and data roles, with more than 80% of its workforce based in India. While the startup does not maintain offices overseas, it has staff in markets including Nepal, Germany, the U.S., and Australia to serve its growing international customer base.
Sandeep Singhal, co-founder and managing partner of WestBridge Capital, stated that they believe Varaha is uniquely positioned to build a global carbon-removal platform from India, combining integrity, scale, and impact. He said the investment reflects their conviction in the team and their potential to shape the next phase of climate infrastructure worldwide.