The 12 Most Active Angel Investors For Indian Startups

As we continue our look at the top angel investors in India, we’ve compiled a list of the 12 most active investors. In addition to being a prolific investor, Pai is also one of the largest advocates of women entrepreneurs and has invested in over a dozen companies. Read on to learn about their specific areas of interest and the specific angel funds they invest in.

Kunal Shah

In 2018, Kunal Shah invested in at least thirteen startups in his personal capacity, doubling the number of investments made by former Google India head Rajan Anandan and Snapdeal founder Kunal Bahl. According to Tracxn, the most prolific angel investor has invested between $10k and $50k in startups. Shah also invests in startups to help the founders, but he does not track his investments.

While studying in Mumbai, Kunal Shah attended Wilson College and did an MBA briefly from the Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies. His first entrepreneurial venture, Paisaback, was a cash-back promotion app for organised retailers. Despite being an investor in many startups, he seems to be investing in nearly every other one. This means that he is a good signal when it comes to finding talented employees, quashing competition, and playing the perception game.

As an active angel investor, Shah has developed a closer relationship with his portfolio companies, which is reflected in his interaction with them. One such example was when a consumer startup founder approached Shah for advice. To get in touch with Shah, he contacted a friend of Shah, a well-known senior founder in Bengaluru. Shah’s request for an introduction frightened the founder, who was not expecting a meeting with a stranger. It’s not uncommon for founders to seek out introductions when meeting an unknown investor, and Shah is no different.

The top 100 angel investors’ portfolios are made up of 3,231 start-ups. The sum of the investments in these companies has reached $13 billion. In CY21, Rs746 crore was raised in seed funding deals, bringing the total to around $13 billion. That’s a very high percentage for a startup’s initial seed funding. So, it’s not unusual for multiple angel investors to make a single investment.

In addition to investing in hundreds of startups, Kunal Shah also invests in a number of renowned companies. He has also been a part-time partner at the Y Combinator accelerator, where he helped start the Freecharge app and was an advisor to several Fortune 500 companies. As a result, Kunal Shah is one of the most active angel investors for Indian startups. Latest News

Abhishek Rungta

Abhishek Rungta is a serial entrepreneur and a highly active angel investor in India. Before launching his own angel investment firm in 2012, he founded the firm Xelpmoc. In addition to that, he also served as a consultant and mentor to several tech startups. Among other investors in India, he is also a founding member of Mumbai Angels and co-founder of RateGain, an online dating service.

Abhishek is an entrepreneur with twenty years of experience in the internet and technology business. His investment experience makes him an excellent choice for early-stage startups. He co-founded Seeders with Fusion Charts founder Pallav Nadhani and has helped to fund more than 100 startups. His investment experience includes eight exits, and he says that the best lessons are learned through missed opportunities.

Abhishek Rungta co-founded the real estate startup TaxiForSure in 2010 and sold it to Ola Cabs for $200 million in 2015. Since then, he’s invested in dozens of startups and is one of India’s most active angel investors. He also founded two startups in the technology, including Indus Net Technologies and EnergyTech Ventures.

Besides, Abhishek Rungta is a member of the board of governors of ICRIER and NCAER. He sits on several advisory boards and has written a book, Imagining India: The Idea of a Renewed Nation. He also co-founded the $100 Mn VC fund Fundamentum.

Angel investors are generally single investors, and they believe that a startup’s founding team is important. These investors are interested in a company’s potential to disrupt an industry. They are delighted by the prospect of a product that is disruptive and innovative. Often, angel investors invest in a company if they think it can change the way it does business.

Another active angel investor is Rajul Garg. He is an MBA dropout, and his background in technology and startups has naturally led him to focus on investing in India’s startup ecosystem. Previously, he co-founded Freecharge with Sandeep Tandon, which was acquired by Snapdeal for $400 Mn in April 2015. He also worked as a consultant at Sequoia and is currently working on Cred, a credit card rewards app. Both Garg and Rungta are highly respected and active in the Indian startup scene.

Vijay Shekhar Sharma

The founder of XS Corps was unable to fund the creation of his startup, which was subsequently closed. Instead, he turned to create content management software for media agencies. Vijay Shekhar Sharma became one of the most active angel investors for Indian startups when he sold 40% of his company to an angel investor. Vijay wanted to make enough money to pay for his sister’s wedding, but he couldn’t get a loan from his father for two lakhs.

With a background in Electronics and Communications, Vijay Shekhar Sharma is well connected and possesses a wealth of knowledge on building a successful mobile company. His passion for building successful businesses is second to none. He is an excellent advisor and mentor and is as passionate about building companies as you are. His knowledge of the Indian startup ecosystem is invaluable for growing your business.

Besides Paytm, Vijay Shekhar Sharma has also backed a number of other startups. Paytm was one of the first Indian e-wallet companies and is considered representative of the Indian startup ecosystem. As the founder of a leading e-wallet company, Sharma is an active angel investor in India and has made more than 25 investments in early-stage companies.

Paytm’s Vijay Shekhar Sharma was among the first angel investor in India and invested in social venture Milaap. However, Sachin Bansal has not invested in an Indian startup this year, but he has invested in Dimension NXG, which is building India’s first augmented reality headset, AjnaLens. Other high-profile investors in India include Binny Bansal, who invested in Paytm and Ola, which are currently engaged in pitched battles for category leadership.

Vijay Shekhar Sharma has invested in as many as 62 startups in his personal capacity in 2018. The fintech unicorn CRED co-founded by Vijay Shekhar Shah invested in six Indian startups in 2018 and is already participating in 62 startup funding deals in 2021. He even refused to take a shark role on the popular TV show Shark Tank India.

Rajan Anandan

One of the most active angel investors in India is Rajan Anandan. A former CFO of Infosys, he has invested in over 26 start-ups. As a super angel and mentor, Anandan plays a crucial role in India’s startup ecosystem. He has a track record of making investments in tech companies and has also mentored budding entrepreneurs.

India has been a startup haven for the past decade, with robust incubation infrastructure, financing schemes, and tax incentives. Incubation and funding have all contributed to this, and the number of startups in India has increased in the past decade. In order to make the most of these opportunities, early-stage startups need to target the right angel investors and make the right pitch. One of the most active angel investors in India is Rajan Anandan, former Google India Vice President and co-founder of Blue Ocean Ventures, the first seed fund in Sri Lanka. While he prefers to invest in B2B startups in partnership with an existing company, he doesn’t rule out serendipity.

Anandan has been an operational investor in the internet space for several years. This means that he doesn’t have the time to sift through startups looking for funding, but he stumbles upon business ideas through his associations with other angel investors. His involvement with the Indian Angel Network, an organization that brings together startup founders and angel investors, is another source of startups he stumbles upon. His investments in startups include online fund-raising company LetsVenture, city guide portal Little Black Book, and crowd-funding website Wishberry. Latest News of Indian Startup

Anandan is a mechanical engineer with a postgraduate degree from Stanford University. He began his career working for consultancy firm McKinsey & Co. He worked closely with Michael Dell, the founder of Dell, as his executive assistant. He has lived in India since 2006 and has also been the MD of Microsoft India before joining Google. He is also a very active angel investor in Sri Lanka, where he has backed BOV Capital, the first venture capital firm in that country.