Varaha, an Indian climate technology company that builds carbon removal projects, raised $20m as the first part of a planned $45m Series B round announced on 3 February 2026. WestBridge Capital led the tranche, which TechCrunch said was the firm's first climate technology investment. Existing investors RTP Global and Omnivore also took part.
ESG Today described the $45m as the size of the round Varaha is raising and the $20m as an initial tranche that has closed. The sources do not say whether the remaining roughly $25m has been raised. No valuation was disclosed.
“Climate solutions only matter if they scale with integrity.”Madhur Jain, co-founder and CEO, Varaha
What Varaha does
Varaha develops carbon removal projects, working mainly through regenerative agriculture, agroforestry, biochar and enhanced rock weathering, largely with smallholder farmers and industrial partners in emerging markets. TechCrunch reported projects in India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan and Ivory Coast, and said the company works with roughly 170,000 to 175,000 farmers across about 1.7 million acres. It issues credits through registries including Puro.earth, Isometric, Verra and Gold Standard.
The company says it has removed more than 2 million tons of carbon dioxide across 14 active projects, generating about 150,000 credits. ESG Today counted 20 carbon projects across South Asia, so the two outlets use different project counts.
Varaha says it was the first in India to issue biochar carbon credits and the first in Asia to issue enhanced rock weathering credits through an international registry. Its Industrial Partners Program lets industrial operators with gasification capacity and sustainable biomass produce biochar, with Varaha providing training, sensors, verification and credit sales.
Customers and finances
TechCrunch named Google and Microsoft as long-term buyers, and Lufthansa, Swiss Re and Capgemini among corporate customers. ESG Today described a 100,000-tonne removal deal with Microsoft and offtake agreements with Google and an unnamed aviation company.
According to TechCrunch, Varaha earned about ₹430m ($4.76m) in revenue last fiscal year, expects nearly ₹1bn ($11.06m) this year and is profitable after tax. It has about 225 to 230 employees, over 80% of them in India. Its total funding is about $33m in equity, $35m in project financing and $500,000 in grants.
What the money is for
The money will go to expanding into South and Southeast Asia, specifically Vietnam and Indonesia, and deepening its presence in existing markets, according to TechCrunch.
Co-founder and chief executive Madhur Jain told TechCrunch that carbon credits are a cost on buyers' balance sheets, not a corporate social responsibility item. He also said that technology in the field will become open source over time, so what matters most is execution. He added that for companies in wealthier markets with high costs it is going to be extremely hard to survive. Sandeep Singhal, co-founder and managing partner of WestBridge Capital, said the firm believes Varaha is uniquely positioned to build a global carbon-removal platform from India.
Company website: varaha.earth