Climate technology company Prithu has closed a $1.1 million funding round led by Transition VC, India’s first energy-transition focused venture capital fund, to expand its full-stack carbon removal platform built around regenerative agriculture and nature-based solutions.
Founded in 2024 by Sunny Vaish, Prabal Tomar, and Abhinav Pandey, Prithu develops high-integrity carbon credits from practices including soil organic carbon enhancement, alternate wetting and drying in rice cultivation, and biochar application.
The company’s proprietary digital monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) system combines on-ground soil sampling, satellite monitoring, machine learning, and biogeochemical modeling to verify emissions reductions against international frameworks like Verra, Gold Standard, and Puro.
The capital will be used to onboard smallholder farmers in key Indian agricultural regions, strengthen blockchain-powered monitoring infrastructure, and secure long-term offtake agreements with international buyers.
Over the next 12 to 24 months, Prithu plans to expand to 123,000 acres (500,000 hectares) of nature-based solution projects and explore new geographies.
The company targets buyers across manufacturing, technology, energy, aviation, and consumer industries, positioning itself against a backdrop of rising demand for nature-based removal credits with verifiable data trails.
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The global carbon market, currently valued at $3 billion to $4 billion, is projected to reach $40 billion to $50 billion by 2030, Prithu said, pointing to a unique untapped potential in smallholder farming in India.
“Buyers are prioritizing credits that have strong data, clear traceability, and consistent on-ground execution,” Gaurav Patil, VP of Investments at Transition VC, noted. “Prithu is building the infrastructure required to deliver that, particularly in regenerative agriculture, where scale and credibility rarely come together.”
Prithu’s longer-term ambition is to sequester 20 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) by 2030, while generating new income streams for smallholder farmers through revenue-sharing arrangements tied to verified carbon outcomes.
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