Grao Direto raises $15 million series B in unprecedented collaboration from world industry leaders

Kaszek, the largest investment fund in Latin America, led the round. Funding will be used to expand financial services and accelerate AI-based solutions for the world's most downloaded grain trading app

Grão Direto, the leading digital grain trading platform in Latin America, has raised $15 million in its latest investment round to accelerate the modernization of grain markets. Led by Kaszek, the largest venture capital fund in Latin America, the round also saw participation from the venture capital arm of Bradesco, SLC Ventures, CME Ventures, Endeavor Scale-Up Ventures, alongside its existing investors.

This investment solidifies Grão Direto’s position as a key driver of digital transformation in grain trading. Over the years, the company has consistently attracted strategic investors, reinforcing its role in modernizing agribusiness. Its first funding round included Leaps by Bayer (formerly Monsanto) and Canary. The second was led by Lanx Capital, while the third saw industry giants such as ADM, Amaggi, Cargill, and Louis Dreyfus Company join as investors. Later, BASF also came on board. All investors hold minority stakes, with no controlling interest or exclusivity rights, ensuring a collaborative approach to accelerating the digitalization of grain trading.

″We are uniting global leaders to drive a crucial innovation in agribusiness: the digitalization of grain trading. While Brazil and the United States lead global production, both still face challenges in modernizing their commercialization processes. What we are building goes beyond technology—it is an unprecedented convergence of corporations and investors to drive this change worldwide″ said Alexandre Borges, CEO of Grão Direto.

Throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, competing companies came together to establish exchanges, making business environments more efficient for everyone. Grão Direto is applying that same concept to the physical agricultural commodities market, creating a neutral, open, and independent platform. This is being built not only with key strategic players in agribusiness but also with the agility and innovation mindset of venture capital.

Marking its first investment in agriculture, Kaszek—known for backing some of Latin America's most successful unicorns—underscores Grão Direto’s potential as a global leader. Beyond capital investment, each new backer brings essential expertise: Kaszek’s deep knowledge in marketplaces and fintechs; SLC Agrícola’s leadership in agricultural production; Bradesco, the largest private bank operating in Brazilian agriculture, through its ventures fund; CME Ventures, a subsidiary of CME Group, which operates the leading agricultural commodities exchange in the world; and Endeavor Scale-Up Ventures, the leading global network for high-impact entrepreneurs. 

The newly secured funds will be allocated to strengthening the platform and expanding its offerings in agribusiness. ″Half of the investment will be dedicated to enhancing technological solutions, including real-time pricing and transactions, digital barter innovations, and new AI-driven tools— leveraging our proprietary AI technology, AIrton. The other half will focus on expanding financial services, including receivables factoring, grain-backed credit cards, and futures contract-linked financing solutions,″ affirms Borges.

This latest investment will enable Grão Direto to expand its technology and meet increasing global market demands. The platform currently boasts more than 85,000 active users, 14,000 grain delivery and pickup points with real-time pricing—a unique industry advantage—and processes over 40 million price points daily, optimizing negotiations and improving market efficiency. Over the past year alone, the company has facilitated digital grain transactions totaling 8 million metric tons, solidifying Grão Direto as a global benchmark for the digitalization of grain trading.

For Borges, this investment solidifies Grão Direto’s long-term vision. ″Our mission is to empower farmers and the entire agribusiness value chain. Farmers are at the heart of agriculture, facing immense daily challenges, and it is our responsibility to ensure that agribusiness beyond the farm gate is as modern as the innovations happening inside it. Through technology, Brazil is proving that it can lead not only in productivity and quality but also in pioneering new business models on a global scale,″ he concludes.

About Grão Direto

Grão Direto is the largest digital grain trading platform in Latin America, connecting the entire agribusiness supply chain—from farmers to buyers such as feed mills, cooperatives, intermediaries, and major trading companies. With a significant and rapidly growing volume of digital grain transactions and the most widely used trading app globally, Grão Direto is a global benchmark in market digitalization, operating in a neutral, open, and independent manner.

Through Grão Direto, all agribusiness players can trade in the physical grain market with greater efficiency and security, whether in spot, futures, or barter transactions. The platform also offers market intelligence solutions, real-time pricing, financial services, back-office support, and ESG solutions. Additionally, it leverages advanced artificial intelligence technologies, including a virtual assistant that facilitates grain trading via WhatsApp, making the process even faster and more intuitive. Recognized both nationally and internationally, Grão Direto is transforming agricultural trade by making it more connected, agile, and transparent.