🌺When saffron grew in Kerala

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13 May 2025 View in Browser

Hello,   All great journeys must come to an end.   A week after Rohit Sharma announced his retirement from Test cricket, Virat Kohli too brought down the curtains on his 14-year-long career in the red ball format. But he leaves behind a stunning legacy: 123 Tests, 9,230 runs, 30 centuries.   He flourished as captain, with 40 wins in 68 tests. He led Team India to the top of the ICC Test rankings, won a series against Australia, and had an unbeaten home streak for eight years.   O Captain! My Captain!   Meanwhile, we’re in the midst of an earnings season.    EV maker Ather Energy, which listed on public bourses last week, narrowed its losses and grew its revenue by 29% YoY in Q4 FY25. Buoyed by the sales of Ather Rizta, the company is counting on expanding its distribution centres.   Also, fintech platform Zaggle posted a 67% rise in net profit to Rs 32 crore for the fourth quarter, supported by deeper wallet share from existing clients and new partnerships.   Speaking of partnerships, the one between humans and animals is unparalleled.   The Arctic fox, whose population had dropped to a few dozen in the early 2000s due to climate change and hunting, is back in the wild thanks to human interventions.   Little snow-white survivors.   In today’s newsletter, we will talk about  Indoor saffron farming in Kerala Building smart mirrors for fashion retail Mannequins made from paper   Here’s your trivia for today: Which island nation doesn’t have its own natural source of fresh water and instead relies on rainwater collection?

Startup Cultivating saffron in KeralaFounded in 2024 by Seshadri Shivakumar, LNS AgriTech is Kerala’s first indoor saffron farm. The 35-year-old civil engineer left his decade-long job to grow saffron in Wayanad.   Shivakumar offers a word of caution to those considering entering the field. The industry may seem lucrative with stories of saffron selling at over Rs 5 lakh per kg, but the reality is much more complex.    Sweet success: Saffron is one of the most expensive spices in the world, and its cultivation has always been geographically restricted to certain cold regions, primarily Kashmir. The journey from idea to execution for Shivakumar wasn’t easy. Saffron cultivation demands the precise control of four key environmental factors—temperature, humidity, light, and carbon dioxide.  Shivakumar built a cold storage room typically used for food preservation and transformed it into a high-tech cultivation chamber. He then installed refrigeration units to mimic Kashmir’s fluctuating temperatures, which range from 1°C to 27°C depending on the saffron growth stage. Know More

Funding Alert Farmley: $40M | Series C Celebal: $15M | Series B

Startup Building smart mirrors for fashion retail Founded in 2022 by entrepreneur Naveen Kumar, Dharpan.ai brings smart mirrors and virtual trial rooms to fashion retail, helping brands deliver instant, immersive try-on experiences—both in-store and online.    “Customers can now try any colour, size, or style available in the store, just by standing in front of our smart mirror. It takes just 2.5 seconds,” Kumar says. “They even get notified when new stock arrives—they can try it from home, from wherever they are sitting.”   Perfect fit: Dharpan.ai is a B2B fashion tech startup that has built both its hardware and software in-house, including sleek six-foot mirrors which are installed in retail stores, typically in prime locations near entrances. The mirror uses a custom-built algorithm (not third-party AI) to scan and render garments virtually, allowing customers to select styles, switch colours, and see the perfect fit without entering a physical trial room. Dharpan’s breakthrough came in 2023 when it launched its first smart mirror installations with brands like Monte Carlo and My Perfect Fit. Since then, the company has grown to serve 17 clients, including retailers in Australia and Singapore.  Know More

Sustainability Mannequins made from paper Erode-based Jothi Specialty Papers offers a sustainable alternative to the fashion industry’s reliance on fibreglass and plastic displays with a groundbreaking invention—mannequins made out of paper.   The mannequins are made using a low-impact process that blends traditional techniques. It begins with the collection of fabric scraps—mostly cotton offcuts sourced from apparel and toy manufacturing units in Tiruppur’s industrial hubs.   Key takeaways: Jothi Specialty Papers is now a Global Recycled Standard (GRS is an international, voluntary certification for products made from recycled materials)-certified cotton paper, board, and mannequin manufacturer. It employs a team of 55 women from nearby villages on a contract basis in Pallipalayam municipality, where they are located. Reports show that traditional fibreglass mannequins involve the use of hazardous chemicals and resins, posing risks to both the environment and manufacturing workers. In contrast, mannequins made from recycled fabric materials typically avoid these toxic substances, leading to safer production processes. Know More

From the CapTable Lending, but not to farmers: Indian agritech’s identity crisis While investors have fallen out of love with India’s wider agritech space, one niche within agritech remains attractive—lending.   Indeed, Mark Kahn, co-founder of agritech-focused VC firm Omnivore, told The CapTable earlier this year that agri-fintech is a space he is looking to fund going forward. His reasoning for this was straightforward, with Khan simply pointing to India’s FY24 Economic Survey, which notes that agricultural credit increased from Rs 13,30,000 crore in FY21 to Rs 20,70,000 crore in FY24.   Incidentally, while agritech saw its funding plummet to $208 million in 2024, nearly a third of the funding that flowed into the space went to Pune-based agri-fintech SarvaGram, which raised $66.9 million in a Series D round led by Peak XV Partners.   While the opportunity to lend in the agriculture space is undeniable, though, what’s curious is who these loans are going to. Founders, investors, and analysts The CapTable spoke to unanimously point out that most agri-fintech companies are directing their funds toward warehouses, farmer collectives, and other agritech enterprises, rather than farmers themselves.   This is a far cry from the original mission statements of most agritechs, which began with the goal of empowering farmers.   Key Takeaways: Agri-fintech is booming even as agritech funding dips, with players like Samunnati and SarvaGram raising hundreds of crores. There is a catch, however, with these businesses largely lending to agribusinesses, not farmers. Indeed, most loans bypass individual farmers, who remain reliant on banks or moneylenders. Lending to collectives or peers is safer and more scalable, say founders. Newer players like KiVi are trying to fix this, offering seasonal, custom-sized loans to farmers in TN and Bihar. But such models are still early and unproven at scale. Continue Reading

News & Updates

Paytm: China’s Ant Group will sell a 4% stake in Indian payments firm Paytm for $242 million, Reuters reported, citing a term sheet. Ant, an affiliate of Chinese conglomerate Alibaba Group, will sell the stake at Rs 809.75 per share, a discount of 6.5% to Paytm's closing price on Monday. Job cuts: Nissan Motor will additionally slash more than 10,000 jobs globally, bringing the total cuts, including previously announced layoffs to about 20,000 or 15% of its workforce, Japan’s public broadcaster NHK reported on Monday. Price hike: Apple is weighing price increases for its fall iPhone lineup, a step it is seeking to couple with new features and design changes, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

Here's what else we have for you

PhonePe unveils next-gen Made-in-India SmartSpeaker In association with PhonePe   PhonePe has launched a new, next-gen, Made in India SmartSpeaker, an upgraded Made-in-India version that’s designed to meet the evolving business needs of merchants. The portable speaker that gives instant voice alerts for payments retains all popular features of the earlier version, and offers enhancements in connectivity and power efficiency.    Know More

Did you know?

Which island nation doesn’t have its own natural source of fresh water and instead relies on rainwater collection? Answer: Bermuda.

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