The archive · Commerce & Marketplaces · Strategic decision · 2019–2025
Captain Fresh's seafood bet: ₹3,200 Cr revenue, ₹40 Cr profit, $400M IPO filing
Utham Gowda bet software could organise seafood from catch to buyer; after ₹3,200 Cr FY25 revenue and ₹40 Cr net profit, Captain Fresh filed a ~$400M IPO.
Captain Fresh (Infifresh Foods Ltd)
What the business is
A B2B seafood supply-chain platform linking fishers and aquaculture farmers with retailers and distributors, generating roughly 98% of revenue from the US, Europe, the Middle East and China (CNBC TV18).
Starting capital：More than $200M raised to date, including a $30M pre-IPO round in January 2025 from Prosus Ventures, Accel and Tiger Global (CNBC TV18).
How it started
Founded by Utham Gowda, Captain Fresh set out to digitise the seafood trade: it sources from fishermen and aquaculture farmers and sells through a tech-led supply chain to retailers, distributors and restaurants. From early on the platform tilted abroad — by January 2025 Gowda told Inc42 that about 60% of demand came from the US, followed by Europe, with the Middle East under 5% and India at just 2–3%.
What happened
Revenue grew from ₹817 Cr in FY23 to ₹1,395 Cr in FY24, up 71%, while the net loss narrowed from ₹294 Cr to ₹229 Cr. In FY25 revenue jumped to ₹3,200 Cr with EBITDA of ₹120 Cr and a net profit of ₹40 Cr — the company's first profitable year, powered by overseas demand and prior acquisitions. Captain Fresh also raised a $30M pre-IPO round in January 2025 from Prosus Ventures, Accel and Tiger Global with angels including Swiggy co-founder Sriharsha Majety and India Equity Partners chairman Sid Khanna.
How it ended up
IPO-bound: in mid-2025 Captain Fresh converted into public company Infifresh Foods Ltd and added independent directors, and in August 2025 it pre-filed its DRHP confidentially with SEBI for an issue of about $400M — a ₹1,700 Cr fresh issue plus an offer-for-sale component. Proceeds from the fresh issue are earmarked to repay debt and to fund further acquisitions in the US and Europe, where Captain Fresh has already bought seafood brands (CNBC TV18, Inc42).
Background
Captain Fresh, founded by Utham Gowda, is a B2B seafood supply-chain platform that links fishermen and aquaculture farmers with retailers and distributors. Its founding bet was that a technology-led supply chain could replace the fragmented, middleman-heavy trade in fresh seafood — and that the economics would work best by selling in high-income markets rather than only fixing India's own fish market.
The tilt overseas is stark: CNBC TV18 reported that more than 98% of Captain Fresh's revenue now comes from the US, Europe, the Middle East and China, and the company operates hubs in Chicago, Paris, Dubai, Madrid and Oslo. By January 2025 Gowda told Inc42 that roughly 60% of demand came from the US alone, with India at 2–3%, and that the company served about 500–1,000 wholesalers in the US.
The growth and profitability numbers came from that global mix. Revenue rose from ₹817 Cr in FY23 to ₹1,395 Cr in FY24 (up 71%) with a ₹229 Cr loss, then to ₹3,200 Cr in FY25 with EBITDA of ₹120 Cr and a net profit of ₹40 Cr — its first profitable year. Captain Fresh had already bought seafood brands and processing capacity in the US and Europe, and the strategy was to keep rolling up the value chain abroad.
In January 2025 it raised a $30M pre-IPO round from Prosus Ventures, Accel and Tiger Global, with angel participation from Swiggy co-founder Sriharsha Majety, Sona Comstar chairman Sunjay Kapur and India Equity Partners chairman Sid Khanna. After converting to public company Infifresh Foods Ltd in mid-2025, it pre-filed its DRHP confidentially with SEBI in August 2025 for an issue of about $400M, including a ₹1,700 Cr fresh issue whose proceeds would repay debt and fund more overseas acquisitions, with Gowda hinting at eventual B2C expansion in Western markets.
What has to be true
- Captain Fresh chose full supply-chain control — sourcing, processing, distribution and acquired brands — instead of a thin marketplace on top of an unorganised trade.
- It went where the money is: 98% of revenue comes from the US, Europe, the Middle East and China, where seafood commands prices India's wet markets never reach.
- Acquisitions in the US and Europe bought distribution and brand trust quickly, letting a startup from Bengaluru compete with decades-old seafood traders.
- It filed for IPO only after turning profitable: ₹40 Cr net profit on ₹3,200 Cr revenue in FY25, with proceeds earmarked for debt repayment and more acquisitions.
What can be applied
A fragmented fresh-food market can be rebuilt with software, but Captain Fresh's profit came from selling where seafood is bought at scale — the global bet, not the Indian one, made the model work.
Aftermath
As of August 17, 2025, Captain Fresh is a profitable, IPO-bound private company (Infifresh Foods Ltd). It pre-filed its DRHP confidentially with SEBI for about $400M, planning a ₹1,700 Cr fresh issue to repay debt and fund more US and Europe acquisitions. FY25: revenue ₹3,200 Cr, EBITDA ₹120 Cr, net profit ₹40 Cr, with over 98% of revenue from overseas hubs in Chicago, Paris, Dubai, Madrid and Oslo. Gowda has signalled possible B2C expansion in Western markets, so the founding bet — software plus vertical integration can reorganise seafood globally — remains live.
Sources
- Captain Fresh files confidential IPO papers with SEBI; Aims to raise ₹1,200 crore: Sources
- Captain Fresh Files Confidential Papers For $400 Mn IPO
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