India's Skymet raises $4.5m Series B round
Skymet Weather Services, an Indian provider of weather forecast solutions for the agricultural sector, has raised $4.5 million Series B round of funding led by dmg::information Asia Pacific, a unit of UK media group Daily Mail and General Trust (DMGT). Existing investors Omnivore Partners also took part in the round.
Set up in 2003, Skymet is claims to be India's first private weather monitoring service, with the largest network of automatic weather stations (AWS) in the country. The company provides its clients with short-range, medium-range, and seasonal weather forecasts via its website and accompanying Android mobile app. It also provides agricultural risk solutions such as crop area/yield forecasts, remote sensing, and agricultural insurance product development.
The company raised it first institutional round in August 2011 when Omnivore - an agriculture-focused early stage investor - acquired a 33% stake in the company for INR45 million. The transaction had also been Omnivore's first investment after launching its INR2.5 billion ($40 million) maiden fund a year previous.
This latest investment will be used to expand Skymet's weather monitoring network, to introduce new equipment for tracking hail and frost, to invest in research and development, and to expand its market in India and overseas. The company will also re-launch its website later this month to provide forecasts in seven languages.
"Climate variability is a growing threat worldwide and we believe that India will benefit hugely from the expansion of Skymet's weather monitoring network and development of accurate agricultural statistics," said Stephen Stout, CEO of dmg::information Asia Pacific, in a statement. "We look forward to working with Jatin Singh and his impressive team."
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