The archive · Commerce & Marketplaces · Strategic decision · 2015-2026
Ninjacart's farm-to-shop bet turns EBITDA-profitable: $6M round, IPO prep
India's biggest agritech bet that farmers could skip intermediaries: revenue was deliberately shrunk to ₹1,634 Cr, then EBITDA-profit and an IPO.
Ninjacart (63Ideas Infolabs Pvt Ltd)
What the business is
A B2B fresh-produce supply chain: Ninjacart buys fruits and vegetables directly from 150,000+ farmers and delivers them to retailers, quick-commerce players, modern trade and HoReCa across 40+ Indian cities.
Starting capital：$145M from Walmart and Flipkart in December 2021, following earlier backing from Tiger Global, Accel, Syngenta Ventures and Steadview (VCCircle background); a $9M round from STIC and Mainstreet Digital followed in 2022.
How it started
Founded in July 2015 in Bengaluru by five entrepreneurs including Thirukumaran Nagarajan and Kartheeswaran KK, Ninjacart began as a hyperlocal grocery delivery app. Within months it pivoted to B2B: the founders saw India's chain of intermediaries between farm and shop as the structural problem, and built a full-stack fresh-produce supply chain instead of a thin marketplace.
What happened
Ninjacart raised over $300M cumulatively from Tiger Global, Accel, Walmart, Flipkart and others, reaching more than 1,500 tonnes moved daily across 40+ cities. Revenue grew to ₹2,007 Cr in FY24 but losses persisted at ₹260 Cr. In FY25 the company deliberately exited low-margin segments: revenue fell to ₹1,634 Cr while losses stayed flat at ₹256 Cr, and the core fulfillment business - including supply to quick-commerce players - grew over 100% YoY in FY26.
How it ended up
In July 2026 Ninjacart raised a $6M first tranche led by Accel, Tiger Global and Nandan Nilekani, declared EBITDA profitability, and said it had begun preparing for a public listing within two years.
Background
Ninjacart is a Bengaluru agritech company founded in July 2015 that bet India's fragmented fresh-produce chain could be replaced by a full-stack B2B supply chain: sourcing directly from 150,000+ farmers, running its own sorting, quality and fulfillment, and delivering fruits and vegetables to retailers, quick-commerce players, modern trade and HoReCa across 40+ cities.
The company started as a hyperlocal grocery delivery app and pivoted to B2B within months. It raised over $300M from Tiger Global, Accel, Walmart, Flipkart, Syngenta Ventures and Steadview, and scaled to moving 1,500+ tonnes of produce daily. But growth came with losses: ₹260 Cr in FY24 on ₹2,007 Cr revenue.
In FY25 Ninjacart made a deliberate strategic turn - exiting low-margin, non-core segments. Operating revenue fell to ₹1,634 Cr but losses stayed flat at ₹256 Cr, margins improved, and the core fulfillment business serving quick-commerce grew over 100% YoY in FY26. By July 2026 the company declared EBITDA profitability and raised a $6M first tranche from Accel, Tiger Global and Nandan Nilekani, saying it had begun IPO preparations.
The company now frames itself as a quiet strategic supplier to India's quick-commerce giants, and its own investors credit the discipline of turning a hard, operations-intensive model profitable. The open question is whether it can keep growing the profitable core while preparing a public listing within two years.
What has to be true
- Ninjacart took revenue down on purpose - ₹2,007 Cr to ₹1,634 Cr - to prove margins matter more than top line.
- The profitability turn came from a real operational wedge: direct farm sourcing, own fulfillment and embedded credit, not just marketplace fees.
- Being a multi-city supplier to quick-commerce made it strategically important even while it was loss-making.
- The July 2026 funding from Accel, Tiger Global and Nandan Nilekani after four years without a round shows investor conviction in the profit story.
What can be applied
When a supply-chain business cannot grow and shrink at the same time, shrinking deliberately - cutting revenue to protect margins - can be the faster road to profitability and an exit.
Aftermath
As of July 2026 Ninjacart is EBITDA-profitable and preparing for a public listing within two years. It remains a multichannel supplier - quick commerce, modern trade, traditional retail, export-import and HoReCa - across 40+ cities with over 150,000 farmers and more than 1,500 tonnes of fresh produce moved daily. The company says its core fulfillment business grew over 100% YoY in FY26, and the $6M tranche is the first part of a larger round from existing investors, including Accel, Tiger Global and Nandan Nilekani.
Sources
- Ninjacart raises $6 million from existing investors
- Ninjacart turns operationally profitable, secures fresh capital
- Ninjacart cuts FY25 losses by a tad; eyes profitability next fiscal
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