Varaha is a Gurugram-based carbon removal developer that runs regenerative agriculture, agroforestry, biochar and enhanced rock weathering projects and sells verified removal credits.

This Startup Deep Dive explains what Varaha does, how it makes money, who backs it, how it compares with rivals and what could go wrong, using publicly available information. It is educational and not investment advice. Last updated: October 2026.

Varaha in Brief

• What it is: Varaha is an Indian Carbon removal / climate tech company based in Gurugram.
• Who it serves: businesses, institutions, consumers, learners and public-sector buyers.
• Develops carbon removal projects across 14 active projects in India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan and Ivory Coast
• Works with roughly 170,000 to 175,000 farmers on about 1.7 million acres
• Sells verified credits through registries including Puro.earth, Isometric, Verra and Gold Standard
• Funding: About $33M equity, $35M project financing and $500K grants per company; trackers differ widely.

Varaha Quick Facts

Figures marked “reported” come from published reports and may differ between sources; “Not disclosed” means no reliable public figure was found.

What Is Varaha?

Varaha operates in the Carbon removal / climate tech space in India. Understanding a company like this starts with three questions: who is the customer, what painful problem is being solved, and why the solution is better than the alternatives. The sections below apply that lens to Varaha.

• Develops carbon removal projects across 14 active projects in India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan and Ivory Coast
• Works with roughly 170,000 to 175,000 farmers on about 1.7 million acres
• Sells verified credits through registries including Puro.earth, Isometric, Verra and Gold Standard
• Runs an Industrial Partners Program helping operators generate biochar credits

The Origin Story of Varaha

Every company starts from a noticed gap and a team willing to commit to closing it. Strong origin stories are specific: a clear problem, a founding team with relevant skills, and an early product that real customers could test. Founder-market fit, meaning the team’s lived experience or technical depth in the domain, tends to predict how fast a young company learns.

• Founders: Madhur Jain, Ankita Garg, Vishal Kuchanur.
• Founded in 2022 by Madhur Jain (CEO), Ankita Garg and Vishal Kuchanur
• Argues its edge is execution and lower operating costs in India rather than proprietary technology

Key Milestones and Challenges

No startup grows in a straight line. Early years usually involve slow adoption, product rewrites, hiring mistakes and funding gaps. In the Carbon removal / climate tech sector the common turning points are a first paying customer, a regulatory approval, a successful product demonstration or a funding round that lets the team invest ahead of demand. How a team responds to setbacks says more about resilience than any single headline.

• 2022: founded; seed of about $4M reported in December 2022
• February 2024: $8.7M Series A led by RTP Global
• FY25: revenue Rs 51.7 crore and profit after tax about Rs 1.0-1.1 crore
• Over 2 million tons of CO2 removed and about 150,000 credits generated
• February 2026: $20M Series B first tranche led by WestBridge Capital

Varaha Funding and Investors

Funding history shows how much outside confidence a company has attracted and how long it can operate before needing more capital. Figures below are reported and may differ between sources; valuation figures are estimates unless the company has confirmed them.

• Dec 2022: Seed, about $4M, backers include Orios Venture Partners, RTP Global, Omnivore, Better Capital (per a tracker)
• Feb 2024: Series A, $8.7M, led by RTP Global (some trackers list $9M)
• Feb 2026: Series B first tranche, $20M, led by WestBridge Capital with RTP Global and Omnivore

How Does Varaha Make Money? (Business Model)

A business model describes who pays, how often and how much it costs to serve them. Strong models show repeat usage, improving margins with scale and acquisition channels that do not depend only on paid spend. Weak models show one-off sales, rising costs and growth that stops when spending stops. For companies selling to businesses, institutions, consumers, learners and public-sector buyers, sales cycles and contract size matter as much as headline growth.

• Pays smallholder farmers to adopt regenerative practices, then measures, verifies and sells credits to corporate buyers
• Long-term offtake agreements reported with Google, Microsoft, Lufthansa, Swiss Re and Capgemini
• Lower operating costs in India allow cheaper removals

The Numbers: Varaha Financials

Financial figures show whether growth is turning into a self-sustaining business. Small and private companies often disclose little, so any number below is included only if it was found in public reporting.

• FY25: revenue Rs 51.7 crore (up 791%); total expenses Rs 50.6 crore; profit after tax Rs 1.1 crore (FAQ says Rs 1.0 crore); net margin 2.0%
• Separately, a 2026 interview reports about Rs 430 million revenue last fiscal year and about Rs 1 billion expected this year; reports differ

Market Opportunity for Varaha

Market size is easy to exaggerate, so a useful approach separates the total market from the portion a company can realistically reach with its current product and distribution. The main forces behind demand in this sector are rising digital adoption, cloud and mobile penetration, growing enterprise technology spending, government digitisation programmes and a deep pool of engineering talent. Each of these widens the opportunity, but capital efficiency and execution decide who captures it.

• Corporate demand for durable carbon removal credits
• Expansion planned into Vietnam and Indonesia

Technology and Product at Varaha

Technology is rarely the whole moat, but it drives speed, cost and customer experience. A practical way to assess it is to separate the capability the company controls from the commodity infrastructure it rents. In this sector the important factors are product quality, data and integration depth, security, scalability and the speed of shipping improvements.

• Measurement, reporting and verification systems for farm and biochar credits
• Four removal pathways: regenerative agriculture, agroforestry, biochar and enhanced rock weathering

Team and Culture at Varaha

Teams are the most important and least measurable asset of a young company. Look at how complementary the founders’ skills are, how deep the second layer of leadership is, and how the company hires and retains specialists. Culture shows up in small repeated behaviours: how quickly bad news travels upward and whether commitments to customers are kept.

• Madhur Jain, co-founder and CEO
• Ankita Garg, co-founder and COO
• Vishal Kuchanur, co-founder and CTO

Varaha Competitors: Competitive Landscape

A fair competitive analysis names direct rivals, adjacent players who could move into the space, and the customer’s default alternative. Durable advantages include proprietary data or technology, licences and approvals, brand trust, switching costs and cost leadership.

Risks and Challenges for Varaha

• Depends on credit prices and buyer demand
• Revenue and profit data come from trackers and differ
• Verification and registry standards can change
• Competition: low barriers to entry and well-funded rivals can compress pricing and slow growth.
• Funding risk: technology businesses often burn cash before reaching profit and depend on investor appetite.

Risk is not a reason to avoid a company; it is a reason to price it correctly and to monitor the right indicators over time. Regulation in this sector is shaped by data protection rules under the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, sector regulators, consumer protection law and IT rules.

Varaha Growth Outlook: What to Watch

• Series B to fund expansion, MRV systems and biochar partnership program
• Management expects revenue to roughly double this year
• Key indicators: recurring revenue, customer retention, gross margin, customer acquisition cost and runway.
• Funding position: Whether Varaha can reach its next milestone before needing new capital.
• Regulation: Changes from data protection rules under the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, sector regulators, consumer protection law and IT rules.

Industry Context: Where Varaha Fits

India's technology startup ecosystem is one of the largest in the world, supported by cheap data, a large base of smartphone users, digital public infrastructure and a deep engineering talent pool. Companies now build for education, software, mobility, logistics, agriculture, defence, media and more, selling both to Indian customers and abroad.

Durable technology companies usually combine a clear customer problem with repeatable distribution and disciplined unit economics. Growth funded only by spending tends to fade, while products that customers keep using and paying for build compounding advantages.

For readers new to this field, a useful habit is to separate announcements from evidence. A plan, a partnership or a funding headline describes intent, while a delivered product, a paying customer or an audited financial statement describes results. Comparing the two over time shows how reliably a company turns promises into outcomes.

Bull Case and Bear Case for Varaha

An investment thesis is a short, testable statement of why a company could become far more valuable, together with what evidence would prove it wrong. The points below are general to this sector and are not forecasts for Varaha.

Bull case

• A large and growing base of digital users and businesses expands the addressable market.
• Recurring revenue and strong retention can compound growth.
• Selling into global markets widens the opportunity beyond India.

Bear case

• Heavy competition can compress pricing and margins.
• Dependence on external funding can force painful cost cuts.
• Regulation or platform changes can disrupt a product quickly.

Lessons Founders and Investors Can Take from Varaha

Studying a company in the Carbon removal / climate tech space offers lessons that go beyond any single firm. The points below are general lessons for the sector and are not claims about Varaha.

• Solving a clear, frequent customer problem matters more than adding features.
• Retention and repeat usage are better health signals than sign-ups.
• Disciplined spending extends runway and keeps options open when funding tightens.
• Distribution, not just product quality, decides who wins in crowded markets.
• Building trust through data protection and reliability is part of the product.

How to Evaluate Varaha as a Startup

• Customer clarity: Can Varaha name its customer and the problem it solves in one sentence?
• Evidence of demand: Look for repeat customers, signed contracts or measurable usage rather than announcements alone.
• Economics: Check whether margins improve as volume grows.
• Execution: Compare announced timelines with what has actually been delivered.
• Funding runway: Estimate how long current capital lasts at the present spending rate.
• Regulatory standing: Confirm required approvals are in place.
• Customer concentration: Check whether a few customers account for most of the revenue.
• Management depth: Look for experienced leaders beyond the founders and a stable core team.

The Takeaway

Varaha is part of India’s growing Carbon removal / climate tech ecosystem. The useful lesson from studying it is the discipline of asking structured questions about customers, economics, advantage and resilience. Companies that answer them well, repeatedly and under pressure are the ones that endure. Readers should treat any single report, ranking or funding headline as one input among many, and should re-check key facts against recent company announcements. Because public information on young companies is often limited, patience in verifying claims is part of good analysis. Public sources can also describe the same company in different ways, so it is worth checking dates, definitions and whether a figure refers to revenue, total income or transaction value, and whether it covers one entity or a wider group, before drawing conclusions. Small differences in rounding, currency conversion or reporting periods can also change how a figure reads. Comparing the same figure across several recent reports helps show whether it is stable or has changed over time. This article is educational and is not investment advice.

• Clear customers and repeat demand matter more than announcements.
• Regulation and capital needs shape how fast a startup in this sector can grow.
• Track a few leading indicators over time rather than one headline metric.

Varaha FAQs: Frequently Asked Questions

What is Varaha?

Varaha is a Gurugram-based carbon removal developer that runs regenerative agriculture, agroforestry, biochar and enhanced rock weathering projects and sells verified removal credits. It is profiled in the Startup Deep Dive series, which explains business model, funding, competitors and risks.

Who founded Varaha?

Varaha was founded by Madhur Jain, Ankita Garg, Vishal Kuchanur, and the company reports a founding year of 2022.

How much funding has Varaha raised?

About $33M equity, $35M project financing and $500K grants per company; trackers differ widely. Funding figures are reported and may differ between sources, so readers should check the latest company announcements.

How does Varaha make money?

Varaha earns revenue from its Carbon removal / climate tech products and services sold to businesses, institutions, consumers, learners and public-sector buyers. The exact revenue mix is described in the business model section and is not fully disclosed publicly.

Who are the competitors of Varaha?

Reported rivals include EKI Energy, Nuture.farm, Carbon Masters. See the competitor comparison above for how they differ.

What are the main risks for Varaha?

Main risks include competition: low barriers to entry and well-funded rivals can compress pricing and slow growth, funding and capital needs, competition and regulation by data protection rules under the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, sector regulators, consumer protection law and IT rules. This is educational content, not investment advice.

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Source

Source: Publicly available data, published reports, industry research, and other credible sources.