Mitti Labs, the agtech that helps reduce methane emissions in rice farming, has raised $3 million in seed round, according to reports. The funding is backed by Lightspeed Venture Partners, Voyager Ventures, Overview, and angel investors.
Mitti was co-founded by Devdut Dalal in 2023 along with Nate Torbick and Xavier Laguarta. Devdut is an entrepreneur who earlier co-founded Mumbai-based Fresh India Organics – a brand involved in organic produce.
The agtech leverages AI in helping farmers curb emissions and reduce water wastage in rice farming. According to data, rice has emissions equivalent to the global aviation industry. This is mainly due to farmers flooding fields, which creates the ideal anaerobic conditions for bacteria to thrive and release methane. Further, overuse of poorly absorbed nitrogen-based fertilizers, leads to nitrous oxide emissions, according to Mitti. The startup maintains that specific seeding and water management farming practices can turn the tide on Rice GHG emissions, reducing Rice GHG emissions by over 40% without affecting yield.
It combines AI with satellite imagery and field data to offer local accuracy at country-level scale. India has been a primary market for the startup as the country is the world’s second-largest rice producer.
The company had recently launched five rice projects across India, in partnership with Syngenta Foundation, Ebro Foods and Dr Reddy’s Foundation, aimed at reducing methane emissions, increase water security and build farmer resilience.
