Captain Fresh, a B2B seafood startup, has secured $20 million in an expanded Series C funding round spearheaded by SBI Investments of Japan and Evolvence Capital.
In addition, the funding round witnessed the involvement of Captain Fresh’s current backers, including Tiger Global, Accel Partners, Matrix Partners India, and Prosus Ventures.
The Bengaluru-based startup intends to leverage the newly secured capital for expanding its presence in the European and US markets.
Captain Fresh has also announced the appointment of Basola Valles as the CEO for its European market operations.
Commenting on expansion plans for Europe, Valles said, “We aim to reduce turnaround times, invest in product innovation, and deliver on transparency and traceability needs. We will initially focus on selected European countries in partnership with local players.”
The funding round comes almost a year after Captain Fresh raised $7.3 million from Evolvence Group as part of its extended Series C round.
In March 2022, Captain Fresh had previously disclosed securing $50 million to expand its operations into Africa and the Middle East. Prosus Ventures and Tiger Global led this funding round, with additional participation from Accel India, Matrix Partners India, Ankur Capital, and Incubate Fund.
Established in 2019 by Utham Gowda, Captain Fresh operates as a farm-to-retail platform specializing in animal proteins such as fish, seafood, and sheep. The company directly sources its products from agents and farmers and distributes them through various channels, including B2B, B2R, and B2B2C.
The startup indirectly competes with well-established players in the market, including FreshtoHome, Licious, and Tendercuts, which was acquired by Good To Go.