WayCool Foods raises $117 million

City-based WayCool Foods has raised $117 million from new and existing investors to expand its business and to invest in complementary business to create ‘keiretsu’.

The agri-commerce company has raised funds from LightRock, LightBox, FMO, Lightsmith, World Bank Group’s- IFC, Redwood Equity Partners and Gawa Capital, it said in a statement.

The deployment of funds, which is a combination of equity and debt, has begun. It will be used to accelerate and leverage deep tech and automation to enhance its efficiency multi-fold.

“Our first priority would be to deepen and widen our technology and automation, in our quest to build the most comprehensive food and agri platform,” said Karthik Jayaraman, CEO and co-founder, WayCool.

WayCool will also deploy the funds to deepen its footprint, adding up to 50 more distribution points over the next 18 months.

“Finally, we will be investing to create a keiretsu of businesses, who bring complementary capabilities and are aligned to our purpose,” he said.

In 2021, WayCool increased its customer base by four times, entered the Middle East market and is all set to strengthen its footprint in the UAE market.