Despite the gloom of funding winter, investors are optimistic and expect the funding numbers to improve in the second half of the year
Catalysing the green shoots of revival in funding numbers are India’s bullish investors, whoare currently sitting on a dry powder north of $50 Bn
Stride Ventures, ah! Ventures and Innoven Capital emerged as the biggest investors in H1 2024, backing 46, 28 and 25 startups, respectively
The Indian startup ecosystem has had a rough couple of years. Far from the funding boom of 2021, Indian startups have braced through a nearly three-year-long capital drought, which appears to have percolated into 2024 as well.
As per Inc42 data, Indian startups cumulatively raised $5.3 Bn in the first half (H1) of 2024 as against $5.4 Bn raised in the first six months of 2023.
Despite the doom and gloom of the funding winter, the homegrown startup ecosystem is witnessing a revival of sorts. Investors are optimistic and expect the funding numbers to improve in the second half of the year. In an Inc42 survey, over 90% of startup investors said they expect a funding revival in H2 2024.
The funding data itself gives impetus to this claim. Unlike H1 2023, when funding raised by Indian startups cratered 72% year-on-year (YoY), the decline in numbers was a mere 2% YoY in the first six months of the ongoing calendar year.
Also, two startups turned unicorn in H1 2024 (Rapido became the third unicorn of the year in July) whereas the same number of startups (Zepto and InCred) entered the coveted club in the entire 2023. Additionally, the total funding raised by the Indian startup ecosystem since 2014 touched the $150 Bn mark during the first six-month period of 2024.
Download The ReportCatalysing the green shoots of revival in the Indian startup ecosystem are bullish investors, who are currently sitting on dry powder north of $50 Bn and waiting for the right opportunity. While the funding winter has made VCs and PEs wary, the capital drought has not stopped them from chasing “sustainable and profitable” startups and pumping capital in the ventures they believe in.
That begs the question, who are these investors powering the Indian startup ecosystem juggernaut? To answer this question, we, at Inc42, have collated the list of the most active investors in H1 2024. So, let’s take a look at the top 25 investors.
(Note: The rankings are based on data gathered from our survey “India’s Top Startup Investor Ranking H1 2024” and the Inc42 database)
1. Stride Ventures
The New Delhi-based venture debt firm backed about 46 startups in the first half of the year. Some of its most notable investments included participation in LendingKart’s INR 100 Cr round, backing IPO-bound electric vehicle (EV) makers Ola Electric and Ather Energy, among others.
Founded by Ishpreet Singh Gandhi in 2019, Stride claims to have a portfolio of more than 140 startups under its belt, spanning sectors such as fintech, agritech, B2B SaaS, and mobility. The venture debt firm’s portfolio also includes startups like Bira91, BluSmart, BlueStone, Infra.market, Jupiter, among others.
Importantly, the VC firm also marked the final closure of its Stride Ventures India Fund III at $165 Mn in May 2024.
2. ah! Ventures
The Mumbai-based VC firm backed 28 startups in the first six months of 2024, including the likes of agritech startup Agrielectric, alcoholic beverage startup Barbrew Beverages, and sports education and infrastructure startup Push Sports.
Founded in 2009 by Abhijeet Kumar and Harshad Lahoti, the VC firm focuses on backing early-stage startups with ticket sizes below $10 Mn. It claims to have backed 127 startups till date and made 17 exits. Its portfolio also includes the likes of Parksmart, Niki.Ai, LoanAdda, among others.
3. InnoVen Capital
The Mumbai-based venture debt firm became the third most active investor in H1 2024 by backing 25 startups. Some of its notable investments included BharatPe, BlueStone, Rebel Foods.
Founded in 2008 by Ashish Sharma, the firm provides debt capital to early and growth-stage tech startups. It has backed the likes of Swiggy, Zoomcar, OYO, Epigamia, among others, till date.
4. Marwari Catalysts
The Jodhpur-based startup accelerator also backed 25 startups during the period. Some of its notable investments included Insurance Padosi, Revoquant, and One Dose.
Founded in 2019 by Sushil Sharma, Marwari Catalysts backs early-stage startups. Its portfolio includes the likes of Jaipur Watch Company, Zostel, Upsurge, Banksathi, among others.
5. Inflection Point Ventures
The Delhi NCR-based VC firm backed 24 startups in H1, including the likes of Snap-E Cabs, REGRIP, Palette Brands, and Glamplus.
Founded in 2018 by Vinay Bansal, Ankur Mittal, Mitesh Shah, and Vinod Bansal, the firm helps startups connect with over 18K angel investors. It has backed startups like Clensta, Siply, Loankuber, Kazam, Qubehealth, among others.
The first half of the ongoing calendar year also saw the VC firm launch a sector-agnostic accelerator in January 2024 to support entrepreneurs looking to build startups that are at the idea stage.
6. FAAD Network
The Delhi NCR-based based VC firm backed 22 startups in the first half of the year. Some of its most notable investments included Grip, Just Deliveries, Snap-E Cabs, Ayna, among others.
Founded by Karan Verma and Dinesh Singh in 2015, FAAD backs seed to pre-Series A startups with investments in the range of $50K-$500K. Its portfolio also includes the likes of ClearDekho, The Hosteller, WCube, among others.
Notably, the firm has also made investments in four agritech startups in the second half of the year so far, investing over $121K in them in July.
7. Venture Catalysts
The Mumbai-based accelerator backed 20 startups during January-June 2024. Some of its most notable investments included SmartJoules, Skye Air Mobility, Butterfly Learnings, and ControlZ.
Founded by Apoorva Ranjan Sharma, Anil Jain, Anuj Golecha and Gaurav Jain in 2015, Venture Catalysts (VCats) has invested over $700 Mn in more than 300 startups till date.
The VC firm claims to have presence in over seven countries and has a portfolio value of over $4 Bn.
As of now, Venture Catalysts is looking to close its early-stage startup fund ‘VC Grid’ by 2024-end with a total corpus of INR 900 Cr (about $110 Mn).
8. Blume Ventures
The VC firm backed 17 startups in the first half of 2024, including names such as Battery Smart, Bambrew, Euler Motors, and Multipl.
Founded by Karthik Reddy and Sanjay Nath in 2011, Blume backs early-stage startups and claims to remain “lifelong partners” for the startup. Since inception, the Mumbai-based VC firm has made a total of 315 investments in startups like slice, Classplus, Spinny, among others.
9. 100X.Vc
The Mumbai-based early stage VC firm backed 17 startups in the first six months of 2024 through its 11th cohort. It invested a total of $2.6 Mn in startups in the cohort, which included names like Anyway.ai, Baylink, Deepvue.tech, EasyReplenish, FUTR STUDIOS, and Openleaf, among others.
Founded by Sanjay Mehta, Ninad Karpe, Shashank Randev, Yagnesh Sanghrajka and Vatsal Kanakiya, 100X.VC is a sector agnostic fund that invests in early stage startups. It claims to have made 161 investments since its launch in July 2019.
10. All In Capital
The Bengaluru-based VC firm backed 15 startups in H1 2024. It backed the likes of Tractor Factory, MagicStudio, and Everyday in the first six months of the year.
Founded by Kushal Bhagia and Aditya Singh in 2022, All In Capital invests in Indian startups through a community of founders. It has partnered with 150 startup founders, including Meesho’s Vidit Aatrey, ShareChat’s Farid Ahsan, and Dhan’s Pravin Jadhav, to fuel its investments in homegrown tech startups.
Since inception, it has made a total of 43 investments in startups like Mave Health, Karban, Grid, Newme, among others.
11. IVY Growth Associates
The Surat-based micro VC firm backed 15 startups in the first six months of the year, including Recur Club, Nojoto, CricHeroes, Wyld, TinyCheque, among others.
Founded by Rachit Poddar, Mehul Shah, Prateek Toshniwal and Sharad Todi in 2021, IVY Growth Associates has invested over $300 Mn in its 70 startups. It counts the likes of Rupeek, BluSmart, Zypp Electric, Bummer and Zappfresh in its portfolio.
In May 2024, it rolled out a sector-agnostic fund, Arigato Capital, with a target corpus of INR 250 Cr (around $29 Mn).
12. Z47 (Erstwhile Matrix Partners India)
The US-based investment firm’s Indian arm backed 14 startups between January and June 2024. Some of its notable investments included Krutrim AI, Foxtale, Rocketlane, Neysa.
Matrix Partners first entered India in 2006 and has since then grown to manage investments to the tune of $1.5 Bn. It has backed more than 100 startups and counts the likes of A23, CreditVidya, Captain Fresh, DailyHunt and Country Delight in its portfolio.
In June 2024, the VC firm changed its name from Matrix Partners India to Z47. It said that the name change was part of the larger renaming and organisational update to clarify the local approach and the organisational independence of the local teams.
13. SIDBI Venture Capital
The VC arm of the Small Industries Development Bank Of India (SIDBI) backed 13 startups in H1 2024. Some of its notable investments included GPS Renewables, The Ayurveda Experience, Dhruva Space, among others.
SIDBI Venture Capital Limited (SVCL) was incorporated in 1999 to bolster investments in the MSME segment.
As of now, it has four active funds under its belt – Assam Start-up Venture Capital Fund, Atmanirbhar Start-up Venture Fund, Tripura Start-up Venture Capital Fund, and Ubharte Sitaare Fund.
SIDBI Venture Capital has backed entities like BillDesk, MACROCOMM, Printland, among others, till date.
Download The Report14. Antler India
The US-based VC firm’s India arm backed 12 startups in H1 2024. Some of its notable investments included Cautio, Kubo, SuperReps, Meine, among others.
Antler began investing in India in 2018 and claims to have become India’s largest pre-seed investment firm since then. Globally, Antler claims to have backed over 1,000 startups across six continents.
In India, its portfolio includes Gladful, Segwise, Flint among others 39 others.
15. Alteria Capital
The Mumbai-based venture debt firm backed 11 startups during the period under review. Some of its notable investments included Zyod, OneCard, and Rebel Food.
Founded by Vinod Murali and Ajay Hattangdi in 2017, the firm invests in early and late-stage startups. It has total asset under management (AUM) of INR 4,350 Cr and has deployed INR 5,400 Cr in total across its three funds so far.
It boasts a portfolio of around 190 startups, including Dealshare, BharatPe, Jupiter, Cars24, and Zepto.
In March 2024, the firm announced the final close of its third venture debt fund at $190 Mn. At the time, Murali told Inc42 that the firm will look to back 100-125 companies and deploy the entire capital by December 2026.
16. 3one4 Capital
The Bengaluru-based VC firm pumped capital in 10 startups in the first half of 2024, including edtech startup Vidyut in February 2024.
Founded by Pranav and Siddharth Pai in 2015, the VC firm backs early-stage startups. It claims to have committed a capital of $510 Mn since inception. The firm counts unicorns like Licious, Neobank, Jupiter in its portfolio of more than 80 startups.
17. Huddle Ventures
The Delhi NCR-based VC firm made 10 investments in H1 2024, including ProsParity, Litestore, Asaya, and The Pant Project.
Founded in 2017 by Ishaan Khosla and Sanil Sachar, Huddle Ventures launched its INR 50 Cr Fund I in 2021 and invested in a total of 25 startups. It counts Bold Care, Blue Tokai, Propulsion, RACEnergy, and Cureskin in its portfolio.
In June 2024, the VC firm said its Fund II received strong response from investors and was oversubscribed 20% ahead of its final close. Launched in mid-2023, the fund had an initial corpus of INR 100 Cr for investment in 20 startups.
18. InfoEdge Ventures
The VC arm of homegrown internet major Info Edge backed 10 startups in H1 2024. Some of its notable investments included Bluestone, BuyEazzy, and Aftershoot.
InfoEdge Ventures is an early-stage VC fund backed by Info Edge and Temasek. Info Edge founder Sanjeev Bikchandani leads the VC firm’s investments. Its portfolio includes the likes of Zomato, ixigo, ShipRocket, Fanclash.
In July 2024, it invested $4 Mn in GenAI startup Gnani.ai to further bolster its AI portfolio.
19. Peak XV Partners
The VC firm, formerly Sequoia Capital India & SEA, made 10 portfolio additions in the first half of 2024. These included startups like Atlan, Lyskraft, and Stanza Living.
The first half of the year was quite happening for the VC firm. In March, sources told Inc42 that it would launch a permanent capital vehicle called Peak XV Anchor Fund for the firm’s limited partners.
The fund would enable the firm’s leadership to invest in future funds as well as partner with other fund managers. It also announced the third cohort of its women entrepreneurs-focussed Spark programme, with 14 startups helmed by 16 female founders in February 2024.
Pertinent to note that in June 2023, Sequoia India & Southeast Asia separated from Sequoia Capital US to form Peak XV Partners. Post the separation, Peak XV inherited the $9 Bn+ assets under management from Sequoia India & Southeast Asia as well as a portfolio of 400+ companies stretching across 13 separate funds.
After the separation, Sequoia’s incubator and accelerator programmes such as Surge, Spark, Build, Guild and Pathfinders are also operated by Peak XV Partners and its management team. The VC firm’s portfolio includes names like Awfis, BYJU’S, Freshworks, Gokwik, Groww, among others.
20. SucSEED Venture
The Hyderabad-based investor also backed 10 startups between January and June 2024, including Beyobo, Suraasa, Amealio, Kruu, among others.
SucSEED Indovation Fund started as a network of angels in 2016 and has since then grown to operate a full fledged SEBI-approved Category 1 alternative investment fund (AIF). The fund marked its first close at INR 100 Cr fund in 2020.
Its portfolio includes Niki.Ai, Sanfe, EduGorrila, among others.
21. India Accelerator
The Gurugram-based VC firm backed nine startups in H1 2024, including names such as Hippo, Clean Motion, Zulu, and SunFo.
Founded by Ashish Bhatia in 2017, the VC firm invests in seed-stage startups in India and the UAE. It operates short-term accelerator programs (focussed on fintech, AI, cybersecurity, health, agritech, among others) that provides funding, training and mentoring to startups.
In May 2024, India Accelerator launched RUMS (Robotics, Unmanned & Space), a separate vertical, to back homegrown startups in areas such as robotics and unmanned vehicles.
India Accelerator invests through SEBI-approved alternative investment funds (AIFs), facilitated by strategic tie-ups with angels, VCs and GAN (global accelerator network) partners. It claims to have over 225 startups under its belt.
22. Elevation Capital
Elevation Capital backed eight startups in the first six months of 2024, including names such as Nanonets, Sprinto, UnifyApps, and Wishlink.
Founded by Ravi Adusumali in 2011, the VC firm invests in seed-stage startups in India and UAE. According to its website, it focuses on building “long lasting personal relationships by giving individual time and attention to every founder”.
Its portfolio includes startups like IPO-bound FirstCry, MakeMyTrip, Tracxn, among others.
23. Indian Angel Network
The angel investor network backed a total of eight startups in H1 2024. Some of its notable investments during the period included Dhruva Space, Fyllo, Noccarc, and LetsDressUp.
Formed in 2006 by Alok Mittal and Padmaja Ruparel, Indian Angel Network (IAN) has made over 200 investments till date. IAN is a SEBI-registered early-stage fund with more than 470 investors from around 11 countries.
It claims to provide startups access to mentoring, vast networks and inputs on strategy as well as execution. IAN invests in startups spanning sectors such as agriculture, ecommerce, education, hospitality, internet, gaming, retail, and semiconductor, among others.
24. Piper Serica Angel Fund
The angel network backed eight startups during the period under review – OTPLess, Pantherun, Evify, Freed, ClearTrust, Flashaid, KiVi Agritech, MyCaptain.
Founded in 2003, Piper Serica Angel Fund also counts names such as EV leasing platform ALT Mobility, fintech startup Crediwatch, dark store platform ZFW Dark Stores, digital gaming marketplace Driffle, and SaaS startup Oditly under its belt.
25. Rainmatter Capital
Zerodha’s investment arm invested in eight startups in H1 2024, including the likes of Kushal’s, Two Brothers Organic Farm, SolarSquare, and Fittr.
Growing from a fintech fund and incubator at the beginning of 2016, Rainmatter has expanded its focus to sectors such as healthtech, edtech and climate tech. It has invested in about 88 startups, including CRED, PeeSafe, GalaxEye, and Karban, till date.
Its fintech portfolio includes startups such as smallcase, Ditto and Digio, while its health and wellness portfolio counts names such as The Whole Truth, Fittr, among others.
In addition, it has also invested in climate tech startups such as Akshayakalpa, Solarsquare, Zerocircle, Ossus, among others.
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