Meet Q1 2025’s Most Active Startup Investors

Last year, predictions ran amok that the Indian startup ecosystem will once again become a force to reckon with in 2025 on the back of renewed investor sentiment and an unforgiving funding winter coming to an end. 

Despite a 41% year-on-year increase in startup funding to $3.1 Bn in Q1 2025, the overall funding activity in the world’s third-largest startup ecosystem has remained flat since Q2 2024, according to Inc42’s latest “Indian Tech Startup Funding Report Q1 2025”. Indian startups raised a comparable amount in the second, third, and fourth quarters of 2024 as they did in the first quarter of 2025.

The needle failed to move on the deal count front, too. While Indian startups raised $2.2 Bn in 226 deals in Q1 2024, the deal count stood at 232 in Q1 2025. The metric was nowhere close to the number of deals secured in Q2 and Q3 (280 and 268, respectively). The most impacted quarter in terms of deal count was Q4 2024 at a mere 219 deals. 

But, what about investor participation? 

Well, in the past three months, 656 investors invested in Indian startups, up 42% from the 461 investors that infused funds in new-age ventures. Investor participation in the remaining three quarters, however, remained on par with the just concluded quarter (between 550 and 650). 

In terms of deal count, fintech startups remained investors’ top bets in Q1 2025, followed by ecommerce and enterprise tech. Similarly, in terms of total funding, ecommerce bagged the most investor interest, followed by enterprise tech and fintech startups.  

Interestingly, the most active investors during the quarter — venture debt firms Stride Ventures and Alteria Capital — were also the ones that were the most active investors in 2024. In the first quarter, the two invested in 27 and 26 startups, respectively.  

Besides, Blume Ventures, Trifecta Capital, Antler, Peak XV, and 3one4 Capital made it to the list of the most active investors of the just-concluded quarter (Q1 2025).  Without further ado, here’s the list of the most active investors.

Note: This ranking is based on data consolidated from Inc42’s India’s Top Startup Investor Ranking Survey [Q1 2025 Edition]. 

Stride Ventures 

In the first quarter of 2025, the sector agnostic venture debt firm backed 27 startups like Wow! Momo, Glance and Park+. 

This followed an active 2024, during which the firm wrote 70 cheques for Indian startups. Stride kicked off 2025 with the launch of its largest fund yet — Fund IV — in December, aiming to raise $300 Mn. This came after the final close of its third fund at $165 Mn in May 2024.

In January 2025, Stride also partnered with DPIIT to help Indian startups grow and expand globally. Through this collaboration, the firm committed to offering funding, mentorship, and market access, with a focus on sectors such as manufacturing, consumer goods, B2B, and cleantech.

Since its inception in 2019, Stride Ventures has backed over 150 startups, including Zepto, SUGAR Cosmetics, Ather, and Bluestone. It typically supports growth-stage startups across sectors like agritech, B2B ecommerce, cleantech, edtech, fintech, SaaS, and healthcare.

Alteria Capital

With 26 deals, venture debt fund Alteria Capital emerged as the second most active in Q1 2025. Some of its notable investments include Apna Mart, Pratilipi, and WayCool. Alteria’s latest investment was in GIVA, a D2C jewellery startup that raised nearly $12 Mn in March.

Founded in 2017 by Ajay Hattangdi and Vinod Murali, Alteria primarily invests in Indian startups that have already secured significant equity funding. Alteria Capital has made 157 investments across its portfolio to date.

It has more than 15 unicorns in its portfolio. 

The debt firm’s folio includes notable startups such as BharatPe, Bombay Shaving Company, Cars24, Dailyhunt and Jupiter. It claims to manage assets under management (AUM) worth $550 Mn.

Blume Ventures

Early stage-focussed VC firm Blume Ventures was the third most active startup investor in Q1 2025, backing 21 startups during the period. In the quarter under review, the VC firm backed emerging names like Atomicwork, Swish Club, GoStops and TakeMe2Space.

Founded in 2010 by Karthik Reddy and Sanjay Nath, Blume primarily invests in startups at the seed and Pre-Series A stages. Their typical cheque size ranges between $1 Mn and $5 Mn. The VC firm’s investment thesis puts emphasis on backing founders who are identifying large and growing markets with significant opportunities for disruption and value creation. 

The VC firm has made over 500 investments to date, backing startup unicorns like Unacademy, Spinny, slice, and Spinny, among others.

Besides, its portfolio also includes startups like Cashify, BHIVE Workspaces, Leverage Edu, and Printo, among others. 

ah! Ventures

Backing 20 startups during the quarter under the review, ah! Ventures emerged as the fourth most active startup investor. Some of its notable investments during the period under review included Zealopia, TechMonk, Agrilectric, and Markytics, among others. 

Founded in 2009 by Harshad Lahoti and Abhijeet Kumar, ah! Ventures operates as a fundraising platform for startups seeking seed, angel, and pre-Series A funding.

It typically infuses $100K to $1 Mn through its First Gear and Angel Platforms, and up to $10 Mn via its High Tables Platform.

ah! Ventures has made a total of 239 investments to date worth about $56 Mn in 137 startups via its various platforms. Some of its notable investments include Exotel, Settl, SuperBottoms, among other such names.

Rainmatter

Zerodha-backed VC fund Rainmatter invested in 20 startups between January and March 2025, clinching the fifth spot in the list of most active Indian startup investors.  Some of the notable investments by the Bengaluru-based VC fund in Q1 2025 included Boldcare, FluxGen, and Sisters In Sweat, among others. 

Established by Zerodha in 2016, Rainmatter functions as the VC arm of the investment tech giant, making investments with a long-term perspective and without strict exit mandates. 

The firm primarily focusses on investing in early-stage startups in fintech, health and wellness, climate tech, and storytelling.

Besides funding, it also provides mentorship, access to Zerodha’s APIs and networking to portfolio companies.

The VC has made a total of 146 investments to date, backing notable names like CRED, smallcase, Ultrahuman, and Jupiter, among others.

BlackSoil

Alternate credit platform BlackSoil was the sixth most active VC during the period under review, investing in 19 startups like Celcius Logistics and Epaylate. 

Founded in 2010 by father-son duo of Mohinder Pal Bansal and Ankur Bansal, BlackSoil provides debt financing solutions to growing startups, particularly those in the “new economy”, which may be underserved by traditional banks and financial institutions.

The VC firm offers various debt products and unique credit solutions including venture debt and structured debt to startups.

The alternate fund platform also operates NBFC platform BlackSoil Capital to provide credit to SMEs and high-growth companies. It also runs a supply chain financing platform SaralSCF to offer working capital to businesses. It counts startups like OYO, Spinny and WebEngage, among others as part of its portfolio. 

After recently receiving the green light from RBI, the firm is expected to merge with Caspian Debt soon. The combined entity will boast an AUM of over INR 2,000 Cr, leveraging the combined expertise of having financed a sum of INR 10,000 Cr to over 450 Startups, MSMEs and companies. 

Indian Angel Network

Funding platform Indian Angel Network (IAN) took the seventh spot in the list of top Indian startup investors in Q1 2025, participating in 18 rounds in the period under review. The platform backed early-stage startups like goSTOPS, FluxGen, PlaySuper, Svastek, among others during the quarter.

Established in 2006, IAN is one of India’s largest seed and early-stage startup investment platforms. It is a network of over 500 angel investors who are primarily entrepreneurs and CEOs.

The platform typically invests in the range of $60K to $6Mn in startups through its angel network and dedicated funds like the IAN Fund I and IAN Alpha Fund.

The platform claims to have invested approximately INR 900 Cr in over 225 companies. They have also seen 15 portfolio exits and have 4 unicorns in their portfolio namely Spinny, Ola, Druva, and Uniphore.

All In Capital

VC firm All In Capital grabbed the eighth spot among the most active investors in the first quarter of 2025, making 15 deals. Some of the startups it backed include Plazza, Krvvy, Prep, and Med Mitra.

Founded in 2022 by Kushal Bhagia and Aditya Singh, All In Capital focusses on early and seed stage startups. It usually invests between $250K and $600K in startups that are just getting started.

While the firm claims to be sector agnostic, its second fund shows a clear interest in consumer tech, deeptech, fintech, and consumer brands. Along with funding, the firm also helps connect founders with other investors to help raise larger rounds.

All In Capital finds promising startups through a strong founder community, which includes Meesho’s Vidit Aatrey, MPL’s Shubh Malhotra, and ShareChat’s Farid Ahsan.

Though still new, the fund has already backed over 70 startups across its two funds. Notable names in its portfolio include Giva, Mixar, and MeetRecord.

Trifecta Capital 

Venture debt firm Trifecta Capital secured the ninth spot on the list of most active investors in the first quarter of 2025 with 14 investments.

Some of its key bets in the first quarter included Farmart, Spintly, and Magenta Mobility.

Founded in 2015, Trifecta Capital is a venture financing firm that offers both debt and equity funding. It focusses on growth and late stage startups. It manages assets worth $600 Mn (around INR 5,000 Cr).

Trifecta invests across sectors such as agritech, edtech, mobility, logistics, and enterprise tech. Its portfolio includes well-known names like Livspace, ixigo, Meesho, and Atomberg.

In January, the firm announced the first close of its INR 2,000 Cr (around $230 Mn) venture debt fund. This fund plans to invest in 100 startups, with each investment ranging from INR 25 Cr to INR 30 Cr.

Antler

Global VC firm Antler made 12 investments in the first quarter of 2025, earning it the 10th spot on the list of top investors for the period. Some of its key bets include Just Breathe and Blink Money.

Started in 2018, Antler is a venture capital firm that backs early-stage startup ideas. It claims to invest up to $500K in startups that are still at the idea stage. 

So far, Antler has invested in over 1,300 startups around the world, including more than 80 in India through a careful selection and assessment process.

Antler invests across various sectors, such as consumer tech, fintech, AI, and SaaS. In India, it has backed startups like Alt Fashion, Namma Yatri, and Segwise.

Nitin Sharma, a partner at Antler, told Inc42 that the firm plans to invest in 40 more startups in India in 2025, pushing its total portfolio in the country beyond 100. Antler is heavily focussed on investing in AI-led startups.

[Edited By Shishir Parasher]