Living Roots, an agriculture technology company helping agribusinesses improve fertilization and yields across their farmer networks, has closed a seed funding round as it looks to expand across Southeast Asia and South Asia. The round was backed by new and returning angel investors, including Epic Angels, Adithep Narula, Suchote Chanvipava and six other angel investors. Living Roots will use the funding to expand its partnerships with agribusinesses, grow its team and further develop its software, AI capabilities and agricultural product portfolio.
The company operates at a part of the agricultural supply chain where input costs can have an outsized effect on both farmer incomes and agribusiness margins. Fertilizer is among the largest expenses for farmers across much of Southeast Asia and South Asia, while a significant share of synthetic fertilizer used in these markets is imported. That leaves farmers exposed not only to high input costs but also to fluctuations in global fertilizer prices.
Living Roots works directly with agribusinesses that source crops from large networks of farmers. Its technology combines software and AI tools for managing fertilization across those networks with biologicals, biostimulants, seed coatings and fertilizer products that farmers can use in the field. The company says the combined approach has helped reduce demand for imported synthetic fertilizer by about half while improving yields.
Living Roots already has active deployments with partner networks in Thailand, Indonesia and India, covering a range of crops. In Thailand, the company says its work with partners has helped farmers increase yields by 20–30 per cent.
The model is designed to address two challenges at the same time: helping farmers produce more while reducing the amount they spend on inputs. For agribusinesses that depend on reliable farmer networks, improving productivity can also strengthen relationships with growers and improve the economics of sourcing.
“Our partners in Thailand have shown what happens when farmer networks get the right tools. Farmers grew more, spent less on fertilizer, and their networks got stronger. This round lets us do that with agribusinesses across Southeast Asia and South Asia,” said Abhi Agarwal, founder and CEO of Living Roots. “We are here for the long run, and we are excited to work with businesses that want better outcomes for their farmers.” The company is now looking beyond its existing markets. Living Roots is expanding into Central Asia and West Africa, with discussions under way with potential partners and pilot programmes already started.
The expansion reflects a broader opportunity for agricultural technology companies that can work through existing agribusiness networks rather than trying to acquire individual farmers one at a time. By embedding its technology and products into businesses that already work with large numbers of growers, Living Roots can potentially scale its approach across entire supply chains.
The company's next phase will focus on expanding those partnerships while continuing to build its software and AI capabilities and develop its portfolio of biological and fertilizer-related products.
For Living Roots, the proposition is ultimately less about selling another farm input and more about changing how fertilizer decisions are made across fragmented farmer networks. If agribusinesses can use better data and field-level tools to determine what crops need, when they need it and how much to apply, the potential gains extend beyond individual farms to the economics and resilience of the wider supply chain.
