altM raises $10.3M to scale farm-waste chemicals
By Abha Lohia · Editor ·
Series ABengaluruFounded 2022
- AltM makes specialty chemicals and bio-based materials from crop leftovers, offering a plant-based substitute for inputs now made from fossil fuels
- The Bengaluru startup raised about ₹100 crore, with Rainmatter and Mela Ventures leading and earlier backers Omnivore, Theia, Aureolis and Spectrum Impact…
- The money will expand manufacturing, aiming to cut India's reliance on imported petrochemical-based materials
What happened
- altM raised $10.3 million (about ₹100 crore).
- Rainmatter and Mela Ventures led the round.
- Existing investors and angel investors also joined.
- The money goes into scaling production.
- The startup makes chemicals from farm residue.
Why it matters
- India imports many petrochemical-based materials.
- Farm waste is a cheap, plentiful raw material.
- Local production can cut import dependence.
The business
- altM turns leftovers from farms, such as cane waste and straw, into raw materials for industry.
- Its products are specialty chemicals and biomaterials.
- They are meant to replace fossil-derived materials.
The founders
AG
Apoorv Garg
Co-founder- Former Tesla manufacturing executive
YR
Yugal Raj Jain
Co-founder- Former Tesla manufacturing executive
Who put in money
- Rainmatter Lead — Zerodha's fund for startups
- Mela Ventures Lead
- Omnivore Existing investor
- Theia Ventures Existing investor
- Aureolis Ventures Existing investor
- Spectrum Impact Existing investor
Other articles talking about it
Terms in this story
- Startup: A startup is a young company built to find a new way of doing something and to grow fast, usually by serving many customers at little extra cost. India also has a legal definition for scheme benefits: under ten years old, turnover under ₹200 crore, and working on innovation or a scalable model.
- Funding stage: Startups raise money in steps called funding stages: pre-seed, seed, Series A, B, C and later, ending in a listing or a sale. Each step is larger and asks for more proof. In India, Series A rounds run from a few million dollars to about $15 million, as of November 2026.
- Series A: Series A is usually the first large round a startup raises from venture capital funds, after it has shown that people want what it sells. In India it commonly runs from a few million dollars to about $15 million, or roughly ₹25 crore to over ₹100 crore, with founders selling about 15 to 25 percent, as of November 2026.
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