Top Angel Investors in India: A Comprehensive Guide

Angel investors offer essential funding, valuable connections, and mentorship to startups, especially during their early stages. In recent years, India’s angel investment scene has changed significantly, with high-net-worth individuals leading the way in supporting groundbreaking innovations.

Whether you’re just starting your entrepreneurial journey or seeking to elevate your business, the insights and experiences of these leading angel investors can offer valuable inspiration and guidance. Dive into this list of top angel investors in India to learn and understand what it takes to attract and collaborate with top-tier investors.

List of Top Angel Investors in India

Here is a detailed profile of the leading angel investors of India who have been in the angel investing field: 

1. Ratan Tata

Profile: Former Chief of Tata Sons, well-known for his angel investments in electronics, e-commerce, and healthcare. Unlike a typical angel investor with a specific industry focus, Ratan Tata’s investments are known for their diversity. He has a keen eye for spotting potential across various sectors. 

Investment Strategy: Focuses on investing in nascent technologies and high-impact innovations.

Notable Investments: Ola, Paytm, Urban Ladder.

Success Story: 

Ratan Tata, Chairman Emeritus of Indian conglomerate Tata Group, led Tata’s investment into Ola’s electric mobility arm Ola Electric in the Series A round in 2019. The exact figure of his investment has never come to the open. However, in November of the same year, Tata’s RNT Capital Advisers, along with Falcon Edge Capital, invested Rs 670 crore (approximately $104.4 million)​. Ola has revolutionised urban mobility in India, becoming a household name. The company has significantly expanded its services, including cab, auto-rickshaw, and bike-sharing options. All of his investments make him among the top angel investors in India.

2. Kunal Bahl

Profile:  Kunal Bahl is a multifaceted figure in the Indian startup ecosystem.  He co-founded Snapdeal, a leading e-commerce platform, and has since emerged as a prominent angel investor with a keen interest in technology and retail startups.

Investment Strategy: Backs scalable business models and startups led by disruptive technologies.

Notable Investments: Unacademy, Oyo, Razorpay.

Success Story: 

Unacademy is a very popular learning application that mainly focuses on India; they have recently received funding of $110 million from Kunal Bahl, General Atlantic, and Facebook in February 2020. Unacademy raised another $150 million by September 2020 from SoftBank and got a valuation of $1. 45 billion. This round also saw participation from other significant investors, such as General Atlantic and Facebook. 

3. Rajan Anandan

Profile: Rajan Anandan actively invests in early-stage technology firms across India, Sri Lanka, and the US. With a profound grasp of technology, he has a successful history of backing ventures in diverse tech sectors. His firsthand experience includes close collaboration with startup founders, as well as leadership roles in scaling numerous large technology enterprises in both the US and India.

Investment Strategy: Focuses on digital innovations and consumer internet.

Notable Investments: Innov8, Instamojo, Capillary Technologies.

Success Story: 

His strategic insights and global networks have helped these startups leverage market opportunities at breakneck speed. Rajan Anandan, former VP of Google India and Southeast Asia, invested in Innov8 in its early stages. A coworking space firm, Innov8, managed to get $4 million from the Credence Family Office in 2018 to help the firm expand its centres to more than 13 by 2019. In 2019, OYO Workspaces bought Innov8 for about $30 million; this helped OYO Workspaces to use OYO’s network. Innov8 currently has more than 30 centres that are spread across India. It has unique, colourful workplaces and focuses on creating spaces for communities, which has established it as one of the leaders in the flexible workspace industry in India. 

4. Anupam Mittal

Profile: Anupam Mittal is the founder and CEO of People Group, which has given rise to successful businesses such as Shaadi.com, Makaan.com, Mauj, and People Pictures. He has sponsored over 50 startups across almost every business category. His extensive network and years of experience developing effective Internet businesses offer startups a significant advantage.

Investment Strategy: Focuses on technology and consumer ventures.

Notable Investments: Ola, BigBasket, Rapido.

Success Story: 

Anupam Mittal is one of the top angel investors in Indial. In 2011, he invested ₹1 crore in Ola with a 2% stake in the Indian ride-sharing giant. He has since expanded his influence through the reality show “Shark Tank India,” where he contributed over ₹5.4 crore to 24 different businesses. His investments span various startups, including BizzTM, pawsIndia, and Skippi, with his total portfolio valued at over $23 million. Mittal’s support goes beyond just financial backing; he particularly values companies led by women and families, showcasing his commitment to nurturing innovative and inclusive ventures.

5. Rohit Bansal

Profile: A co-founder of Snapdeal, he focuses his angel investments primarily on technology due to his deep understanding of e-commerce and technology trends. Rohit has garnered notable achievements, including being named BMA Entrepreneur of the Year in 2014 and earning a spot on the ET Top 50 Entrepreneurs of India list.

Investment Strategy: Focuses on e-commerce, technology, consumer goods, and fintech.

Notable Investments: Ola, Sanfe, Anar.

Success Story: 

Rohit Bansal, alongside Kunal Bahl who is also one of the top angel investors in India, co-founded Titan Capital. Recently, Titan Capital raised ₹200 crore for its new Titan Capital Winners Fund, marking its first external capital raise. Since 2011, Bansal and Bahl have been active investors, backing over 250 companies. Their portfolio includes notable startups such as Urban Company, MamaEarth, OfBusiness, Razorpay, Unicommerce, and Ola Cabs. A standout achievement is their nearly 200-fold return on a nine-year-old seed investment in Urban Company.

6. Binny Bansal

Profile: Binny Bansal, co-founded Flipkart with Sachin Bansal in 2007 after studying computer science at IIT Delhi. Initially, they started with just $6,000 and worked from their apartment. Binny worked as Flipkart’s COO and became CEO in 2016, then Group CEO in 2017. In 2018, Walmart acquired a 77% stake in Flipkart, and Binny continued as Group CEO and Chairman. As of February 2024, his net worth is estimated at $1.4 billion. 

Investment Strategy: Focuses on e-commerce and technology.

Notable Investments:  Inshorts, Flash, Hike

Success Story: 

Binny Bansal, co-founder of Flipkart, has actively invested in several startups. He is reportedly negotiating an investment of $100 million to $150 million in PhonePe, a leading digital payments platform. Bansal has also invested approximately $50 million in Curefoods, a cloud kitchen startup based in Bengaluru. Additionally, he has participated in funding rounds for various other ventures, including edtech company Unacademy, freelancer platform Protonn, career development site Glints, and edtech startup Skill-Lync. 

7. Jitendra Gupta

Profile: Jitendra Gupta, a prominent figure in India’s fintech ecosystem, co-founded Citrus Pay, a leading digital payments company. Later, as the Managing Director of PayU, he continued to shape the industry. In 2019, Jitendra embarked on his second entrepreneurial journey by launching Jupiter, a mobile-first neobanking platform aimed at millennials. 

Investment Strategy: Focuses on fintech and enterprise applications.

Notable Investments:  CRED, Cashflo, Tread

Success Story: 

Jitendra Gupta, founder of Jupiter, has made notable investments in various startups. His portfolio includes SiPay, which raised $15 million in June 2024; OTPless, which secured $2.7 million in seed funding in May 2023; and CoinCRED Global, which received $3.5 million in seed funding in March 2023. Gupta also backed OnePlay, which raised $1.8 million in September 2022, and CashFlo, which secured ₹700 million. Additionally, he invested in PayGlocal Technologies, which raised ₹930 million in March 2022, and Dash, which secured $32.8 million in seed funding in February 2022.

8. Vijay Shekar Sharma

Profile: Vijay Shekhar Sharma is the founder and CEO of Paytm, one of India’s largest mobile payments and financial services companies. His journey from a small-town entrepreneur to a fintech billionaire is an inspiring story of resilience and innovation. Sharma has a deep understanding of consumer internet businesses and is known for his relentless focus on customer-centric products.

Investment Strategy: Focuses on technology and consumer services.

Notable Investments:  Unacademy, Josh Talks, NoBroker

Success Story: 

Vijay Shekhar Sharma’s biggest success is Paytm, which started as a mobile recharge platform and expanded into a comprehensive financial ecosystem. Paytm became a household name and Sharma successfully took the company public in 2021, raising $2.5 billion in India’s largest IPO at the time. He has made significant investments in several notable startups: approximately $5 million in Unacademy, an edtech platform; around $10 million in NoBroker, a real estate platform; and about $20 million in Treebo, a budget hotel chain.

9. Kunal Shah

Profile:  Kunal Shah is a serial entrepreneur and one of India’s most prominent angel investors. He is best known for founding FreeCharge, a mobile payments platform, and later launching Cred, a fintech company that rewards users for paying their credit card bills. Shah is recognized for his sharp analytical skills and deep understanding of consumer behavior.

Investment Strategy: Focuses on consumer internet and fintech.

Notable Investments:  FreeCharge, Cred, Razorpay

Success Story: 

Kunal Shah started FreeCharge in 2010, which quickly became a top platform for mobile recharges in India. In 2015, Snapdeal bought FreeCharge for about $450 million, a major deal in the Indian startup world. After leaving FreeCharge, Shah founded Cred, a fintech company that rewards users for paying their credit card bills on time. By 2022, Cred was valued at $6.4 billion and drew significant interest from global investors.

10. Ramakant Sharma

Profile: Ramakant Sharma is one of the top angel investors in India known for his contributions to the Indian startup ecosystem. He co-founded Livspace, a home interior and renovation platform, and has been actively involved in nurturing startups in various sectors. Sharma has a background in engineering and product development, which comes in handy for his involvement in tech businesses.

Investment Strategy: Focuses on consumer services and home solutions.

Notable Investments: Livspace, UrbanClap, Moglix

Success Story: 

Ramakant Sharma’s major success is Livspace, which he co-founded in 2014. The platform raised $180 million in 2021, valuing the company at over $1 billion and making it a unicorn. Sharma’s leadership and focus has impacted Livspace’s growth a lot, making it a leader in the home interiors market in India and Southeast Asia. Ramakant has invested in 69 startups and achieved five exits. Recently, he participated in Wiz Freight’s Series A funding round on March 31, 2022, where the company raised ₹2.8 billion.

Investing in India: Angel Investing for the Future

In conclusion, these top angel investors in India have been key in supporting many startups by providing the necessary funds to help them get started. Their investments have turned small ideas into successful companies, driving growth and innovation in various industries. Beyond just providing money, these investors have shared their expertise and connections, which have been crucial in guiding startups on the right path.

The impact of these investments goes beyond just the startups themselves; it has contributed significantly to the growth of India’s economy. By backing new businesses, these top angel investors have created jobs, encouraged innovation and helped position India as a global leader in the startup space. As the Indian startup ecosystem continues to grow, the role of these investors will remain vital in shaping the future of the economy and encouraging more entrepreneurs to pursue their dreams.

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The Story Of Top 10 Successful Investors Of India

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