For start-ups, getting investments and promotions from a celebrity instantly lends them credibility and enables them to reach millions of consumers.
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The rapid growth of the Indian startup ecosystem over the last few years has captured the attention of several celebrities. Bollywood actors have also turned investors, investing in Indian startups, along with venture capital and private equity funds, to make the most of this growth in Indian startups. To subscribe please click tau.id/2iy6f and access our live channel.
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In 2023, the Indian startup ecosystem experienced steady growth, drawing the attention of actors and celebrities who found it to be a lucrative space for investment. As per the official data, over 19 celebrities from the entertainment industry backed a total of 26 startups so far this year.
Interestingly, several Bollywood celebrities have not only embraced the role of investors but have also ventured into entrepreneurship as startup founders. Notable names in this category include Alia Bhatt, Deepika Padukone, Akshay Kumar, Kareena Kapoor, Ranveer Singh, Sunil Shetty, amongst other celebs.
Celebrities and their investment portfolio
- Akshay Kumar along with cricketer Virender Sehwag invested in Two Brothers Organic Farm, an agritech startup.
- Kareena Kapoor has taken on the role of cofounder at Quench Botanics, a Korean skincare brand.
- Virat Kohli and Anushka Sharma invested in the fledgling plant-based meat company Blue Tribe Foods.
- Anushka Sharma has invested in Slurrp Farm, that sells healthy snacks like flavoured cereals, ready-to-make foods, and superfoods for children.
- Athiya Shetty backed social commerce startup Stage3 in March this year. As part of the deal, she also joined the startup as a creative director.
- Alia Bhatt invested an undisclosed amount in the baby and mom care brand SuperBottoms, hence becoming the brand ambassador as well.
- Dia Mirza backed sustainable baby clothing brand Greendigo in September this year, thus becoming the brand ambassador too.
- Deepika Padukone has been an active entrepreneur and investor as se infused an undisclosed amount in Blue Tokai Coffee Roasters’.
- D2C brand The Ayurveda Co. (T.A.C) received an undisclosed amount of funding from Indian actress Kajal Agarwal.
- actress Malaika Arora invested an undisclosed sum in healthy dessert startup Get-A-Whey.
- Actress Nayanthara, along with her husband filmmaker Vignesh Shivan, infused an undisclosed amount in Chennai-based The Divine Foods in October.
- Actress Parineeti Chopra pumped an undisclosed amount of funding into sustainable personal care startup Clensta in July 2023.
- Sanjay Dutt Infused Capital In Alcobev (Alcohol Beverage) Firm Cartel & Bros, DawnTown.
- Actress Shilpa Shetty Kundra backed two startups, WickedGud and KisanKonnect, investing an undisclosed amount of capital in the two homegrown players.
- Actor Ranveer Singh on-boarded as the new co-owner of the startup D2C sexual health and wellness brand Bold Care, post investment.
According to says Navjot Kaur, associate director at Epiq Capital, Indian venture capital is attracting funds from domestic ultra-high net worth individuals (UHNIs) and many celebrities are a subset of that. Infact, Many stars have even set up family offices to manage their investments in a professional way.”
