That’s too much trouble for too little business, one might think. Khurana thought otherwise. The problem appeared to him as a window of opportunity: to reduce wastage in the fresh produce supply chain and create value for both farmers and consumers. Besides, a farm-to-table fresh produce venture could be a high margin business. Because what farmers sell for ₹10 per kg is often sold to consumers at two to three times the farm-gate price. So why not give it a shot? Bypass the many intermediaries in the supply chain, work closely with farmers on quality improvement, and deliver the finest produce to consumers. A few years later, in early 2020, Khurana founded Otipy. Soon after, a pandemic-induced reset in consumer behaviour, fuelled a rush of venture capital. In less than two years, the startup raised an enviable $44.2 million from a flock of investors like WestBridge Capital, Inflection Point Ventures and SIG Venture Capital, among others. In 2021 and 2022, agri-tech (ag-tech) startups received nearly $2.2 billion in venture funding—a phase now reflectively seen as “over-exuberance of speculative capital”.The closureThe name Otipy was chosen to convey a sense of genuineness and trust to consumers—a play on one-time-passwords or OTPs that are required to authenticate financial transactions. At its peak, sometime in mid-2023, Otipy delivered 30,000 orders to consumer doorsteps every morning in Mumbai and the national capital region. Between 2022-23 and 2024-25, its annual revenue rose by 50%, from ₹115 crore to ₹172 crore. The cash burn, startup lingo for losses, fell by 60%, from ₹90 crore to ₹35 crore. Then, on 17 May 2025, quite abruptly, Otipy shut operations. It ran out of cash after a $10 million fundraise expected in February, from a new investor, a family office, did not come through. Existing investors were reluctant to infuse funds, wary of the growing footprint and popularity of quick commerce platforms, the likes of Zepto, Blinkit and Instamart, even though these did not specialize in perishables. “Somewhere around June last year, our cash flow challenges started,” Khurana wrote in an email sent to investors on 23 May. “While I remain deeply committed to the company and would love to keep it going, continuing without fresh capital is simply not feasible…,” he added. “I believe the changing funding environment and the impact of quick commerce also made it difficult to raise capital. While we brought down our burn to less than ₹2 crore a month, it was still more than what the market expects at this time,” Khurana further wrote. It was not that consumers stopped ordering on its app, the founder told Mint over a phone call last week. It was the fear of quick commerce which triggered a turnaround in investor interest. Quick commerce offered consumers the convenience of super-fast, 10-minute deliveries, compared to the seemingly arduous task for an Otipy user to p in a formal or creative style for better SEO.Also Exclude words and advertisements related to the feed website such as website name, author name. You must only respond with the modified content. Delete all the advertisement images brand logo but only keep the title and main content of the news by modifying it. You must only respond with the modified content. Block any jump outside of the site adarshnews.com. Basically remove any content or link related to original site. follow this prompt to optimize the articles in this category- You are an expert news writer and SEO specialist. Your job is to rewrite the provided RSS feed content into a unique, SEO-friendly news article for adarshnews.com. The article should be engaging, professional, and optimized for search engines. Follow these steps: 1. **Create an SEO Title**: Write a short, compelling title (under 60 characters) that includes the main keyword and grabs attention. 2. **Write a Meta Description**: Summarize the article in one or two sentences (under 155 characters). Make it engaging and include the primary keyword naturally. 3. **Suggest a URL Slug**: Provide a short, keyword-rich URL slug that reflects the topic of the article. 4. **Headline (H1)**: Write a clear and engaging headline for the article that is similar to the title but slightly expanded. 5. **Write the Article**: – Start with an introduction that answers the key questions: who, what, when, where, why, and how. – Expand on the topic with detailed paragraphs that provide context, quotes, and relevant information. – Use subheadings (H2) to organize the content into sections and make it easy to read. – Include related keywords naturally throughout the article. – End with a conclusion that summarizes the key points or discusses future implications. 6. **Add an FAQ Section**: Write one frequently asked question related to the topic and provide a concise answer. Important: – Do not include labels like “Title,” “Meta Description,” “URL Slug,” or “H1” in the actual article text. – Keep all SEO elements separate from the main content. – Ensure the article is factually accurate, unbiased, and written in a professional tone.