Farm work is labour-intensive, and fewer young people want to do it. On small plots, farmers often need different machines for different jobs. With diesel expensive, many continue to depend on manual labour and bullocks.
Mumbai-based Balisto Agritech, founded in 2024, is addressing this with the Balisto 130 Pro, an electric, multi-purpose farm machine. Designed to work across the crop cycle, it reduces the need for farmers to rely on a combination of labour, bullocks, and multiple diesel-powered machines.
The startup was founded by IIT Bombay alumni Aishwarya Ramakrishnan and Kedar Gokhale, who later worked together at Boston Consulting Group.
Ramakrishnan, who also has an MBA from Harvard Business School, worked at the Mahindra Group, first in the Chairman’s Office and later setting up the group’s agritech venture, Krish-e. Gokhale ran his own agritech startup, Truce, before becoming vice president of operations at Swiggy, where he led its delivery fleet across India.
Balisto took 18 to 20 months to move from prototype to commercial rollout. Along the way, it sold an initial batch to paying farmers to gather feedback.
Three motors, one control unit
The machine runs on detachable batteries and can be operated through an electric dashboard or by remote control. At its centre is a smart machine control unit running firmware developed by the company. It manages the battery and three motors, one for each wheel and another for the rotary unit at the back.
The separate motors allow the unit to correct the machine as it moves.
"It tells the machine, 'Hey, you're swerving to the right, come back to a straight line,' or ‘slow down a little bit’," Ramakrishnan explains.
Each machine also has an internet-connected unit that sends data to the company's servers on AWS, allowing the team to diagnose faults remotely.
Sold through the dealer’s counter
Every machine sold today can be used for earthing up (piling soil around the base of plants), weeding, intercultivation (working the soil between crop rows), rotavating and trolley operations.
Last year, Balisto sold 15 earlier-version machines at introductory prices across four districts and eight crops. The startup says it has sold more than 30 machines so far, with cumulative sales since June 2025 crossing Rs 60 lakh.
According to the company, its 30 paying customers have used the machines across more than 600 acres, saving an estimated 3,300 litres of diesel. The current version is government-certified, eligible for subsidy, and patented.
Balisto sells its machines through dealers across Maharashtra. These multi-brand retailers buy the machines from the company, sell them to farmers and handle after-sales service. The double-battery unit costs Rs 3 lakh, while the single-battery version costs Rs 2.5 lakh. The battery comes with a three-year warranty.
The machines are manufactured at the company's plant in Pimpri-Chinchwad, Pune, which has the capacity to produce 60 units a month and can scale to 150. Balisto has a team of more than 40 people.
Autonomy is next
While the machines can already be operated remotely, Balisto says it is in the advanced stages of R&D for an autonomous version. It is using the same hardware, with a magnetometer and GPS added to enable autonomous operation.
Ramakrishnan says the startup plans to introduce autonomy and more multi-purpose features this financial year. It aims to sell more than 200 machines by March 2027 and reach profitability within three years.
Balisto's latest funding round was a pre-seed round raised in April-May 2024 from micro VCs, family offices and angel investors, including DeVC, KPB Ventures, iSeed VC, Bharat Founders' Fund, Spectrum Impact, ISV Indian Silicon Valley, Amplify Fund and several individual investors. The company has not disclosed the amount.
The funds were used mainly for R&D, product development and setting up manufacturing.
"The ultimate dream for the farmer is that farming should be something pleasurable for them, and let technology and machines do the hard work," Ramakrishnan says.
Balisto Agritech is part of YourStory's Tech30 cohort—a showcase of India's most promising startups of 2026, unveiled at TechSparks Bengaluru.
Edited by Teja Lele