Healthtech startup Plazza, which develops a technological platform for retail drug sales and fast medication delivery, has successfully closed a $15 million funding round in Series A. This round was co-led by Accel, Elevation Capital, and Nexus Venture Partners, with participation from existing investors All In Capital and Better Capital.
The Bengaluru-based company stated that the funds raised will be used to strengthen its technological infrastructure, improve its AI-based intelligent inventory management system, expand operational capabilities, and increase the reach of its pharmacy network into new regions.
Plazza was founded in 2024 by Aman Priyadarshi with the goal of addressing one of India's most pressing healthcare issues—ensuring patients have access to prescription drugs when needed. The Indian pharmaceutical retail market is valued at over $30 billion, but it is largely controlled by independent local pharmacies, which typically stock only about 5,000 items out of more than 100,000 available products. This forces patients to visit multiple pharmacies to fulfill a complete prescription.
Plazza's model combines local pharmacies with AI-driven inventory planning, which predicts local demand and determines exactly which medications each point of sale should stock. The company claims that each location carries over 40,000 Stock Keeping Units (SKUs), enabling a prescription fulfillment rate exceeding 95%, significantly surpassing the industry average of 50–60%. Furthermore, it is reported that medication delivery takes place within 15–30 minutes.
Founder and CEO Priyadarshi emphasized that access to medicine should not depend on luck. He objected to situations where patients must visit several pharmacies or wait days due to fragmented inventory, insisting that drug retail must be rebuilt around technology, not just shelves.
According to Priyadarshi, the new funding will allow Plazza to enhance the analytical capabilities of each location, expand its presence across more districts, and create a reliable customer experience with the pharmacy. The startup's AI system continuously analyzes drug prescription patterns at the district level, ensuring each location has a tailored inventory. Chirag Chadha, a partner at Elevation Capital, noted that Plazza attracted attention not only for its delivery speed but also for its fundamentally different operational approach, built on AI-powered inventory management and district-level demand.
Since its launch, the company reports an almost 27-fold growth in its Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) between June 2025 and March 2026. According to Plazza data, repeat customers now place orders with an average basket size approximately 30% larger than first-time buyers. This round follows a seed funding round of $1.4 million announced in September 2025. Despite the cautious investment climate, the healthtech sector remains one of the most resilient segments of venture capital funding in India, as investors continue to support startups focused on improving accessibility, operational efficiency, and reducing the cost of medical care.
Investors in the latest round believe that Plazza's competitive advantage lies in solving a structural problem, rather than simply offering faster delivery. Pratik Agarwal, a partner at Accel, noted that Plazza transforms this experience by combining deep drug stock in pharmacies, reliable local execution, 24/7 access, and a consumer-grade technology level.
Hippo Harvest has raised $30 million in a Series C funding round. These funds are intended to expand the company's robotics-based operations and increase the production of organic leafy greens.
Cox Farms, North America's largest greenhouse operator, led this round. The California-based company plans to use the capital to build a new 30-acre greenhouse in Hollister, pending regulatory approvals. The investments will also go toward developing the next generation of robotic growing systems and accelerating the commercial launch of indoor-grown spinach.
Hippo Harvest stated that this expansion will significantly increase production capacity. Currently, the company utilizes one acre of greenhouse space and supplies products to retailers in Northern California and the Pacific Northwest. The new funding round coincides with the launch of a new offering—indoor-grown spinach. This is another step in the company's product line development following the debut of organic salad oils last spring. All these products strengthen the firm's catalog of year-round organic produce.
Hippo Harvest employs its proprietary autonomous mobile robot technology, which controls all stages of the planting and growth cycle: plant monitoring, level regulation, and harvesting. These robotic devices also move plant modules to ensure maximum greenhouse utilization and increase yields. The company noted that the new system will boost production efficiency, reduce operating costs, and speed up the market introduction of new plant varieties.
Founded in 2019, Hippo Harvest grows vegetables in greenhouses as well as organic field crops. According to CEO Ethan Marder-Eppstein in Food Dive, this provides retailers with more options and guarantees stable year-round supply regardless of weather conditions. The farm currently distributes through stores such as Sprouts, Haggen, and Gus’s Community Markets. The company intends to use the funds to strengthen distribution across the Western United States and grow its national retail presence.
Marder-Eppstein called this investment round a major milestone for Hippo Harvest. He stated: 'Thanks to years of investing in our robotics and machine learning systems, we have created an agricultural enterprise capable of producing stable, high-quality organic produce in a cost-competitive manner.' The round was led by Cox Farms alongside Congruent Ventures, Hawthorne Food Ventures, Collaborative Fund, and Fresh Investment Club. This round attracted the largest amount of capital among all Hippo Harvest rounds, following the closing of a $21 million Series B in early 2024. Steve Bradley, President of Cox Farms, commented: 'We believe Hippo Harvest has a very promising business model for controlled environment agriculture. We think continuous innovation is crucial for creating more sustainable and reliable food production systems.'
