Rize Raises USD 31 Million to Accelerate Sustainable Rice Farming Across Southeast Asia and Modernize the World's Most Essential Crop

With this funding, Rize aims to scale its impact to over 300,000 hectares and empower more than 150,000 smallholder farmers by 2030, strengthening climate resilient agriculture across Southeast Asia. 

Highlights: 

• USD 31 million round — USD 20 million equity led by BNP Paribas Asset Management Alts, with The Rockefeller Foundation, Temasek, and Breakthrough Energy Ventures; USD 11 million debt from UOB, BIDV and Temasek Foundation. 

• Rize has scaled 10x in two years — 17,000 smallholder farmers across over 50,000 hectares in Vietnam and Indonesia, 250 people on the ground, and shipped 1,500 metric tons of low-emission rice to Europe, Canada, Australia, and Singapore 

• Funding directed at deepening field-to-buyer traceability, expanding sustainable farming practices to new markets, advancing carbon certification, and building AI tools and partner access across the value chain

Singapore, July 16, 2026

Rize, Southeast Asia's leading sustainable rice platform, today announced the close of a USD 31 million Series B funding round, comprising USD 20 million in equity and USD 11 million in debt financing. The round brings together a coalition of climate-focused and development finance investors committed to scaling Rize’s model across Vietnam, Indonesia, and the wider region.

The equity raise is led by BNP Paribas Asset Management Alts, and joined by The Rockefeller Foundation, alongside renewed commitments from existing investors Temasek and Breakthrough Energy Ventures. Debt financing is catalysed by BIDV, Temasek Foundation, and UOB.

The raise brings Rize’s total funding to date to USD 47 million, and will be deployed across export expansion, AI-powered tools for farmers and field teams, carbon and innovation initiatives, and organisational growth. In the two years since its Series A, Rize has scaled operations more than tenfold. 

The Series B will fund:

• Strengthening market linkages into export markets, underpinned by traceability across the value chain, bring low emission rice at no premiums.

• Scaling up AWD adoption and MRL compliance, bringing the core practice that cuts emissions and raises farmer income to more farmers, faster, while ensuring more of Rize's rice meets the residue and safety standards required by demanding export markets.

• Doubling down on innovation and modern farming practices – driving higher yields, lower emissions and better outcomes for farmers.

• Expanding into new markets across borders, growing Rize's footprint beyond Vietnam and Indonesia through and explore additional markets in the region

• Opening the platform to new ecosystem partners, so that input & services players and agri-tech providers can access Rize's farmer network and help farmers grow more, and grow better.

  
  

Rice cultivation is responsible for approximately 12% of global methane emissions, a climate footprint equivalent to the entire aviation industry. Addressing that at scale requires changing how millions of smallholder farmers grow it. Rize does this through Alternate Wetting and Drying (AWD), an irrigation method endorsed by the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) and CGIAR, which reduces methane emissions by up to 50%, cuts water consumption by 20–30%, and increases farmer income by up to 30%, without reducing yield. Rize also works to ensure its rice meets Maximum Residue Limit (MRL) standards required by premium export markets. 

Rize emerged in late 2022 from a shared vision between Temasek, 100x100 and Breakthrough Energy Ventures, with 100x100 playing a key role in the early-stage build. The company now works with 17,000 smallholder farmers across over 50,000 hectares in Vietnam and Indonesia, with a team of 250 people on the ground across technology, agronomy, and field operations. 

Rize’s emissions reductions are independently verified. The company’s Sustainable Rice Production in South East and South Asia project has received a BeZero Carbon ex ante rating of ‘A.pre’ with Low project execution risk. An A.pre rating indicates a high likelihood that future issued credits will achieve one tonne of CO₂e avoided or removed. BeZero’s benchmarking indicates that an equivalent A rating sits within the top 30% of ex post global Soil Carbon & Agriculture project ratings, and within the top 11% of ex post global Nature-Based Solutions ratings. The project is also progressing through Gold Standard certification, with more than 1 million credits forecast over the next five years. Low-emission rice is fully traceable to field level, and Rize has already completed initial export shipments totalling 1,500 metric tons to buyers in Europe, Canada, Australia, and Singapore.

"This is a very special moment for Rize. Our platform and approach for transforming and modernising rice cultivation by small holder farmers is getting a big thumbs up by all - the investors, partners and farmers. The team at Rize has successfully woven together positive climate impact and improving farmer resilience into the fabric and foundation of our solutions and business. This investment allows us to unlock the next phase of growth by further expanding scale, investing in market linkage and exports, and cutting edge technologies to deliver better decision making, better productivity, and better outcomes across the whole value-chain.

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 small holder farmers." — Dhruv Sawhney, Co-Founder & CEO, Rize

“We see our investment in Rize as reflective of our conviction that capital deployed into high-impact, durable platforms in underserved markets can deliver meaningful and measurable environmental outcomes to help address climate challenges. Rize has positioned itself at the intersection of sustainable agriculture, carbon finance, and verified commodity trade; very much aligned to our strategy to protect, restore, and sustainably manage natural ecosystems while delivering competitive financial returns for investors.” — Alexandre Martin-Min, Head of Natural Capital & Impact Investments, BNP Paribas Asset Management Alts

“Small shareholder farmers across Asia face challenges with resource management, access to financing, and unreliable market access – leading to lower agricultural yields and reduced farmer welfare. “We are proud to support Rize’s efforts to promote the adoption of tech-enabled regenerative practices, ultimately driving higher yields and increasing incomes for those who need help the most." — Slav Gatchev, Vice President of Innovative Finance at The Rockefeller Foundation

About Rize

Rize emerged in late 2022 from a shared vision between Temasek, 100x100 and Breakthrough Energy Ventures, with 100x100 playing a key role in the early-stage build. Rize is Southeast Asia's leading sustainable rice platform, working with nearly 17,000 smallholder farmers across over 50,000 hectares in Vietnam and Indonesia. Rize deploys science-backed farming practices that reduce emissions by up to 50%, cut water use by 20–30%, and increase farmer income by up to 30% with no reduction in yield. Rize is working toward its goal of eliminating 500 million metric tonnes of CO₂e by 2040. For more information about Rize and its mission to transform agriculture through technology, please visit rize.farm. 

Media Contacts

Rize Farm

Saheen Rahman | Branding & Communications Manager

saheen@rize.farm | +91 8134981213

Ellerton&Co.

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