Inaara NeoFoods raises US$2.4 million seed round to scale AI-driven farm-to-formulation plant protein platform

India-based Inaara NeoFoods has raised INR 210 million (approximately US$2.4 million) in seed funding to accelerate development of its AI-powered plant nutrition platform, with the company planning to expand formulation capabilities, computational nutrition, crop characterization and vertically integrated agricultural operations.

• Inaara NeoFoods raised INR 210 million (approximately US$2.4 million) in seed funding from a syndicate of angel investors.
• The company said the investment would support AI-driven computational nutrition, formulation development, crop characterization and upstream agricultural integration.
• Inaara NeoFoods said it was building a fully integrated farm-to-formulation platform to supply traceable plant-derived functional ingredients to food and beverage manufacturers.

The funding round brought together a group of investors including Ashish Gupta, Pavan Vaish, Mohit Bhandari, Ramesh Mangaleswaran, Sudhir Kamath, Deepali Khandelwal, Kavita Laddha, Manas Rawat, Ankit Gupta and others.

According to the company, the capital will be used to strengthen application-specific formulation development while advancing its proprietary AI and Computational Nutrition Engine. It also plans to invest in crop characterization and upstream agricultural integration to improve what it described as "bio-predictability" across its ingredient supply chain.

Rather than operating solely as an ingredient producer, Inaara NeoFoods described itself as a fully integrated farm-to-formulation business designed to control each stage of production, from sourcing crops through to developing finished ingredient solutions for customers.

The company said its model begins with contract farming and crop aggregation, enabling it to secure proprietary crop varieties, improve raw material consistency and provide full traceability. From there, ingredients are processed using specification-driven manufacturing before being optimized through application-focused research and development for food and beverage manufacturers.

Inaara NeoFoods said this closed-loop approach was intended to accelerate product development while providing greater quality control and transparency throughout the value chain.

The business is developing a portfolio of plant-derived functional ingredients anchored around protein production but extending beyond traditional protein isolates.

Its platform is designed to process multiple grain and pulse feedstocks into plant protein isolates and concentrates for food and beverage applications, alongside functional starches for texture and viscosity, dietary fibers targeting gut health products and specialty lipid fractions for nutraceutical and food applications.

The company said the latest funding would help expand these capabilities while combining artificial intelligence with computational nutrition to improve ingredient performance and consistency for commercial customers.

Inaara NeoFoods also highlighted India's agricultural base as a strategic advantage. It said the business aimed to combine the country's crop production, scientific expertise, computational nutrition capabilities, international partnerships and vertically integrated value chain to deliver certified, traceable plant-based ingredients that meet international food industry standards.

Beyond product development, the company outlined broader sustainability objectives across its operations. It said its sourcing model aimed to improve farmer profitability through contract farming while creating rural employment opportunities. It also plans to reduce the carbon and water footprint of ingredient production compared with animal-derived proteins through greater use of renewable energy and full utilization of crop materials.

The company added that its governance model emphasizes full traceability, food safety compliance and internationally recognized operating standards.

Inaara NeoFoods was founded by Pankaj Khandelwal and Purnima Khandelwal, founders of InI Farms and InI Consulting. They were joined by co-founders Ashwin Raghuwanshi, formerly Chief Operating Officer at InI Farms, and Ved Agarwal, whose previous experience includes leadership roles at ITC, Marico, Cadbury and Amazon.

The company said it was focused on making plant-based nutrition more accessible by developing affordable functional ingredients that could be incorporated into everyday food products for FMCG and food and beverage manufacturers.

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