Climate-tech startup Mitti Labs has raised $9.5 million, approximately ₹90 crore, in a Series A funding round led by Aramco Ventures.
Godrej Industries Group, Cisco Foundation and Volta Circle participated in the round, along with existing investor Lightspeed India. The US-based company, which also has a team in Bengaluru, plans to use the capital to expand its operations across India and develop new greenfield projects in the Philippines and Indonesia.
A significant part of the investment will support the expansion of Mitti Labs’ alternate wetting and drying programme, commonly known as AWD, across these markets.
Rethinking how rice fields are irrigated
AWD is a form of water management where rice fields are dried up to a certain depth at various stages throughout the season, and farmers re-flood the fields through a carefully designed schedule rather than keeping them inundated all the time.
Mitti Labs claims that the method, when implemented correctly, can reduce water consumption by close to 40% and cut methane emissions by more than half.
The company’s approach combines this farming practice with a technology-led monitoring system. Its GeoAI platform uses satellite radar, on-ground data and physical models to create a digital representation of each farm plot.
This system tracks conditions such as soil moisture, flooding levels and crop health, helping the company verify whether the recommended irrigation practices have been followed successfully.
Verified reductions in water consumption and methane emissions can then be converted into measurable environmental outcomes, including carbon credits. These credits may be sold to businesses seeking to offset emissions.
The model gives Mitti Labs a dual focus. It works with farmers to change how rice fields are irrigated while also building a system through which the resulting environmental savings can be measured and monetised.
Expansion across major rice-growing markets
Mitti Labs was founded in 2023 by Xavi Laguarta Soler, Devdut Dalal and Nate Torbick. The startup helps farmers adopt alternative irrigation methods aimed at lowering water consumption without affecting crop yields.
Speaking about the company’s ambitions, Soler said its technology and operating model could help change how rice is grown, reduce emissions and water use, and support more resilient livelihoods for smallholder farmers.
The latest funding gives Mitti Labs the resources to take its operating model into additional regions while increasing the reach of its AWD programme in India and Southeast Asia.
Following the Series A round, the company’s total funding raised has crossed $12.5 million.
Cleantech funding continues to attract investors
The investment comes amid sustained funding activity in India’s clean-technology sector.
Smart-grid solutions company Kimbal raised $22 million in a Series B round led by GEF Capital Partners. Bengaluru-based Newtrace secured $6.3 million in a pre-Series A round, while clean-energy startup Ecoil raised $2.5 million in a Series A round led by Fundalogical Ventures.
Inc42 data cited in the original coverage estimates that the cleantech sector raised $8.8 billion between 2014 and 2025, recording a compound annual growth rate of 15%. India’s domestic cleantech economy is projected to become a $41 billion opportunity by 2040.
For Mitti Labs, the new round is centred on a clearly defined challenge: helping rice farmers reduce dependence on continuous flooding while creating a reliable way to measure the water and methane savings that follow.
Its progress will now depend on how effectively the company can replicate that model across different farming regions, local conditions and smallholder networks in India, the Philippines and Indonesia.
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