The country’s largest horizontal early-stage investment platform, has announced a significant milestone in India's booming agritech sector. Through its IAN Alpha Fund, the group has successfully co-led a ₹45 crore (INR 450 million) funding round for Aquapulse, a high-growth, pond-to-port integrated shrimp aquaculture technology and seafood export startup headquartered in Bhubaneswar, Odisha.
The institutional investment round was led by NABVENTURES through its specialized AgriSURE Fund. Aquapulse plans to deploy the fresh capital injection to strengthen its proprietary farm-level technology, implement advanced disease management systems, and expand its farmer procurement network across Eastern India. Additionally, the funds will scale the company's state-of-the-art processing and export operations while building robust working capital infrastructure to fulfill its rapidly growing global trade obligations.
Organizing India's Fragmented, Multi-Billion Dollar Seafood Supply Chain
India stands as one of the largest global exporters of frozen shrimp. The industry serves as a primary pillar of the nation's overall seafood trade, which reached an impressive US$ 8.28 billion in value during 2025. Despite these massive macroeconomic figures, a significant structural bottleneck remains: the vast majority of Indian shrimp production still originates from highly dispersed, smallholder coastal farms. These rural farmers routinely lack access to organized market linkages, steady pricing structures, modern technological oversight, and strict product traceability mechanisms.
Simultaneously, international seafood buyers in premium global markets demand end-to-end sourcing visibility, stringent biological sustainability, and absolute consistency in product quality. Aquapulse addresses this market gap by digitizing and aggregating smallholder output into a unified, transparent supply chain, providing low-earning farmers with a direct gateway to high-paying international buyers.
The 'Aquapreneur' Framework: A Digitized Hub-and-Spoke Model
Established in 2023 by visionary entrepreneurs Abhishek Dwivedy and Abhilash Dwivedy, Aquapulse operates as the commercial brand of Phoenix Marine Exports and Solution Pvt. Ltd. (PMES). The company has pioneered a highly scalable, farmer-focused procurement platform driven by an innovative "aquapreneur" cluster concept.
Under this framework, localized micro-entrepreneurs manage distinct clusters of shrimp ponds backed by end-to-end institutional support:
Real-Time Water Quality Monitoring: Deploying localized sensory tech to check critical water metrics, minimizing sudden crop mortality.
Precision Feed Discipline: Optimizing input expenses and pond biomass ratios through scientific, tech-enabled feeding schedules.
Disease Early-Warning Systems: Utilizing predictive tracking models to isolate biological threats before they spread through regional pond clusters.
Lagoon-Based Harvesting Coordination: Streamlining pre-harvest schedules to ensure maximum crop freshness and immediate transfer to processing centers.
Integrated 'Farm-to-Port' Logistics: Merging processing collaborations and cross-border shipping logistics into a single, fully traceable platform.
While Aquapulse initiated its journey by organizing local shrimp farmers across coastal Odisha, the startup has successfully proven the cross-border scalability of its model by aggressively expanding operations into Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal.
Leadership Perspectives on Driving Impact at the Pond Level
The leadership team emphasizes that sustainable agricultural development requires prioritizing the economic security of primary producers.
"This round is a vote of confidence in the smallholder shrimp farmer," stated Abhishek Dwivedy, Co-Founder, MD & CEO of Aquapulse. "The capital lets us deepen the aquapreneur cluster model, strengthen pre-harvest technology at the pond, and scale processing and exports without losing the farmer-first discipline we started with. We are trying to organise it — pond by pond, cluster by cluster — so that quality, traceability and farmer income all move in the same direction.”
Focusing on identity and inclusion, Abhilash Dwivedy, Co-Founder & Chief Growth Officer of Aquapulse, added:
“Our job is to make the smallholder shrimp farmer a named, recognised participant in the global seafood chain — not an anonymous input.”
Validating the startup's underlying market thesis, Sarika Saxena, Managing Partner at IAN Alpha Fund, observed:
“We invest in scalable, execution-driven companies that bridge critical market gaps. Aquapulse stood out immediately due to their deep understanding of the aquaculture ecosystem and a ground-level operational model that drives genuine value for both vendors and customers. By building a seamless 'farm-to-port' platform, Abhishek and Abhilash are matching dynamic international demand with unparalleled transparency, traceability, and market access. Aquapulse perfectly aligns with our fund’s thesis: backing innovative solutions that solve real-world problems at scale.”
Institutional Profiles
About Aquapulse
Aquapulse is the flagship operational brand of Phoenix Marine Exports and Solution Pvt. Ltd. (PMES). Headquartered in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, the agritech enterprise directly links smallholder aquaculture producers with organized domestic and international trade routes. Today, the company exports premium frozen shrimp to China, Vietnam, and Japan, while simultaneously serving modern trade and institutional clients across India.
About IAN Alpha Fund
The IAN Alpha Fund is a $100 million SEBI-registered Category II Alternative Investment Fund (AIF) Venture Capital Fund. Standing as the second major vehicle in the IAN Group’s series of funds, it targets transformational innovations across agritech, deep tech, healthtech, SaaS, cleantech, and advanced manufacturing.
About IAN Group
The IAN Group is India’s largest horizontal platform for early-stage startup investments. Comprising the IAN Angel Fund, BioAngels, and institutional funds like the IAN Alpha Fund, the network enables founders to raise anywhere from ₹50 lakhs to ₹50 crores alongside high-quality corporate mentoring. Forbes has recognized IAN as one of the most iconic economic developments of Independent India over the last 75 years, placing it alongside foundational institutions like the RBI, NASSCOM, and LIC.
