Agri-tech startup Rize announced today that it has raised $31 million in a Series B funding round, with proceeds aimed at scaling its platform to reduce emissions from the cultivation of rice, the most-consumed and most carbon-intensive crop globally.
Rice is the largest crop market in the world, with an annual market size of more than $300 billion, but it also accounts for approximately 12% of global methane emissions, a climate footprint comparable to that of the entire aviation industry.
Founded in 2023 through a joint venture between Temasek, Wavemaker Impact, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, and GenZero, Singapore-based Rize develops data-driven solutions to help rice farmers reduce methane emissions, improve yields and adopt sustainable cultivation practices.
Rize is building a platform to identify and implement the most effective strategies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in rice cultivation, alongside economic incentives in the value chain to drive the adoption of sustainable cultivation techniques, with Indonesia and Vietnam as initial target markets, to be followed by India. The company’s platform combines agronomic expertise with measurement, reporting and verification (MRV) technology to support the implementation of low-emissions rice farming across Southeast Asia.
The company said that since raising its Series A financing two years ago, it has built Southeast Asia’s leading sustainable rice platform and expanded its operations more than tenfold.
According to Rize, the new capital will be used to expand field-to-buyer traceability, scale Alternate Wetting and Drying (AWD) adoption and Maximum Residue Limit (MRL) compliance, advance carbon certification, and open its platform to new ecosystem partners, with a goal of reaching 300,000 hectares and 150,000 farmers by 2030.
Dhruv Sawhney, Co-Founder and CEO of Rize, said:
“This is more than just a funding milestone. It is recognition of the foundation Rize has built and a clear signal that we are ready to create a more connected, resilient, and sustainable food system for smallholder farmers.”
The funding round included $20 million in equity financing led by BNP Paribas Asset Management, with participation from The Rockefeller Foundation and existing investors Temasek and Breakthrough Energy. An additional $11 million in debt financing was provided by UOB, BIDV (Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam) and Temasek Foundation. The raise brings Rize’s total capital raised to date to $47 million.
Alexandre Martin-Min, Head of Natural Capital & Impact Investments at BNP Paribas Asset Management Alts, said:
“Rize has positioned itself at the intersection of sustainable agriculture, carbon finance, and consumer preferences for food traceability; very much aligned to our strategy to protect, restore, and sustainably manage natural ecosystems while aiming to deliver competitive financial returns for investors.”
