Meet 10 prominent angel investors & learn about their recent investments.
Success is an iterative process. Building a strong network contributes to the overall success of any business. Angel investors are powerful people who can help you shape your idea, improve your product, and drive your company in the right direction to make it big one day. You can look up these notable angel investors in India for some inspiration or even try your luck in getting in touch with one of them.
1. Ratan Tata
An Indian business tycoon, philanthropist, and notable angel investor,Ratan Naval Tataserved as chairman ofTata Groupfrom 1991 to 2012. Ratan Tata has been awarded the Padma Bhushan and Padma Vibhushan, India’s highest civilian awards. Ratan Tata’s thoughts are a source of inspiration for people all over the world.
In the years after Ratan Tata stepped down as chairman of Tata Group on his 75th birthday, he started looking for opportunities to invest in startup companies. The interest Ratan Tata has taken in the Indian startup culture has led to many small startups seeking investment from him. Many small businesses with innovative ideas that Ratan Tata has invested in have already turned into full-fledged companies. For instance, startups such as Mailit, GOQii, Tork Motor, Lybrate, Snapdeal, Curefit, and Generic Aadhar.
Net Worth of Ratan Tata: $1B
Age: 84
Chairman: Tata Group
Find Ratan Tata on Twitter:https://twitter.com/RNTata2000
2. Kunal Shah
The founder ofCRED, a credit card bill payment platform, and the ex-CEO of Freecharge,Kunal Shah, is one of India’s most active angel investors.
Shah went on to start CRED in 2018. It is a platform that helps users pay credit card bills and get rewarded for them. The app has over 2 million members, and its top credit card partners include HDFC, ICICI, Amex, Axis, SBI, and more.
Additionally, he has worked as a part-time partner at Y Combinator and an advisor for companies like Sequoia Capital, AngelList, Times Group, etc. He has invested in well-known ventures like Unacademy, TVF, Innov8, Shuttl, Razorpay, etc. He has already participated in 124 funding rounds, and he has provided funding to 118 companies that have raised 1,381 million dollars.
Net Worth of Kunal Shah: $809M
Age: 38
Founder: CRED
Find Kunal on LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/kunalshah1/
3. Sanjay Mehta
As a technology investor and venture capitalist,Sanjay Mehtahas achieved massive success in the investing world. Most notable was the 280x return after Ritesh Agarwal exited OYO, which was preparing for an initial public offering.
Sanjay Mehta is the onlyangel investor in Indiawho has four unicorns under his belt. He invested in over 150+ startups across the globe of which four companies became unicorns. Some of the prominent startups were Wow! Momos, Box8, Loginext, and OYO.
Mehta’s portfolio of supported startups has an internal rate of return of 103%, compared to the industry average of approximately 30%.
He told Business Today in an interview that “it’d been a fantastic ride working with entrepreneurs.” He now hopes to replicate this success as a private investor with100X.VC.
Net Worth of Kunal Shah: $6.62M
Age: 50
Founder: 100X.VC
Find Sanjay on LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/mehta-sanjay/
4. Anupam Mittal
Anupam Mittal is the founder ofPeople Group, which has businesses like Shaadi.com, Makaan.com, and Mauj Mobile. He was one of the sharks in Shark Tank India, where he invested in 11 startups.
Anupam has participated in more than 119 rounds of funding in his career and has invested in 50+ startups, including Ola, Druva, and Whatfix. In the Series A round, Mittal also invested 15 million dollars in Gobbly and GoKwik.
Net Worth of Anupam Mittal: $25M
Age: 50
Founder: People Group
Find Anupam on LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/anupammittal007/
5. Rajan Anandan
Rajan Anandanis an Indian businessman presently working as the Managing Director of venture capital firmSequoia Capital. He is a former Managing Director of Google India and Southeast Asia. Rajan has also worked with well-known organizations like Dell and Microsoft. He completed his education at prestigious institutions such as MIT and Stanford University. He has been involved in 112 funding rounds, with 90 companies in his portfolio. Now Rajan is known as one of the notable angel investors in India. He has invested in many startup companies like Pregbuddy, Buttercups, TravelKhana, Instamojo, Unacademy, BOV Capital, Druva, EasyGov, etc.
Net Worth of Rajan Anandan: $700M
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Age: 54
Managing Director: Sequoia Capital
Find Rajan on LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/rajan-anandan-2481b814
6. Sachin Bansal
An Indian businessman,Sachin Bansal, is best known for co-founding Flipkart, which was acquired by Walmart in 2018. Flipkart was valued at $20.8 billion in 2018.
Sachin is a serial investor and provides funding to various startups in SaaS, AI, Media, E-commerce, and Internet Services. Tracxn, Inshorts, Sigtuple, Unacademy, Ola, SpoonJoy, and Ather Energy are some of his most significant investments.
Net Worth of Sachin Bansal:$1.B
Age: 40
Founder: Navi Finserv, Former co-founder of Flipkart
Find Sachin on LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/sachinbansal
7. Kunal Bahl
Kunal Bahlis an Indian entrepreneur, investor, co-founder, and CEO of Snapdeal Private Limited, India’s largest no-frills, value-focused e-commerce marketplace. Additionally, he has worked with companies such as Deloitte Consulting and Microsoft. He has invested in more than 150 startups in India, the US, and Southeast Asia and invested in unicorn companies such as Ola, Razorpay, and Urban Company. In the first quarter of 2022, he has already invested in companies like Neend, Upswing Financial Technologies, and Flint.
Net Worth of Kunal Bahl: $96M
Age: 38
Founder: Snapdeal
Find Kunal on LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/kunalbahl
8. Vijay Shekhar Sharma
Vijay Shekhar Sharmais the founder of Paytm.com, India’s most significant mobile payment and e-commerce platform. Vijay was ranked as India’s youngest billionaire in 2017 by Forbes, with a net worth of $1.3 billion. He is best known for starting One97 Communications in 2000, a company that made mobile content available to users through a cloud platform. The company then launched Paytm in 2010, which has become one of the leading online digital wallets.
In total, he has invested in 49 companies and had four exits. With a vast network of contacts and expertise, he invested in firms such as Unacademy, Sourceeasy, InnerChef, The Ken, Milaap, and more. Recently, he has invested in STAGE, Pepul, Carekink, and Praan in their seed rounds.
Net Worth of Vijay Shekhar Sharma:$2.3B
Age: 43
Founder: Paytm
Find Vijay on Twitter:https://twitter.com/vijayshekhar
9. Ramakant Sharma
RamakantSharmais an experienced tech entrepreneur, angel investor, and early-stage investor with over 15 years of experience in SaaS-based technology startups. Besides co-founding notable companies such as LivSpace and becoming an angel investor, he has mentored over 40 startup companies.
He has also served Myntra, India’s leading fashion e-commerce company, as VP of Engineering. Ramakant has invested in 69 startups with five exits. He recently invested inSeries A — Wiz Freighton Mar 31, 2022. The company Wiz Freight raised ₹2.8B in this funding round.
Net Worth of Ramakant Sharma: $550M
Age: 42
Founder: LiveSpace
Find Ramakant on LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/sharmaramakant/
10. Binny Bansal
Binny Bansaland his partner Sachin initially conceived the idea of starting an e-commerce business after realizing the excellent scope for online shopping business in the Indian market. So, they established Flipkart after leaving Amazon in 2007. Taking advantage of his startup experience,Binny Bansalstarted investing in many worthy ideas. So far, he has made more than 62 investments. A few of the companies where he recently invested are Wasoko, xto10x Technologies, Curefoods, HireQuotient, Skillr, PlanetSpark, and Shyft.
Net Worth of Binny Bansal:$1.3B
Age: 39
Co-Founder: xto10x Technologies
Find Binny on LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/binnybansal
Takeaway
So, now we have come to the end of our list. But hopefully, this gives you a good idea of how each investor has transformed the early-stage startup ecosystem in India. If you’re looking for only the best angels to pitch, keep these 10 names handy. Otherwise, check outexitfund.comto share your startup with 1,000+ angel investors in our community!