The Indian startup ecosystem has grown from a few tech companies to thousands of innovative new ventures in the last decade.

The growth is so rapid that in 2021 alone, India witnessed a record number of startups turned unicorns (startups valued at $1 billion or more). In 2021, 44 Indian startups entered the coveted unicorn club. Last year, in 2022, India overtook China by adding 23 unicorns, while the neighbouring country created only 11 unicorn startups.

Indian startups are working hard to continue this trend, and as per a report by NASSCOM and Zinnov, the Indian startup ecosystem is all set to grow to 200 unicorns by 2025. 

This rapid growth of the Indian startup ecosystem would not have been possible if venture capital firms didn’t back these visionary entrepreneurs. Helping daring entrepreneurs build legendary companies, the VC firms are fueling the vision of thousands of entrepreneurs. 

These VC firms are helping entrepreneurs in bringing India to the digital world map. In 2022, until the end of November, Sequoia Capital led venture capital investments in India, completing 71 deals, while Accel became the second most active VC firm in India, investing in 54 startups in India.

This article is all about those Indian venture capital firms that are helping Indian entrepreneurs by providing them with every resource they require to grow their startups.

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Top 9 Active Venture Capital Firms In India

1. Sequoia India

Sequoia India, for long, has been among the most prominent investors in the Indian startup ecosystem.

Contributing to the development of the Indian startup ecosystem for 14 years of its operations in India, the VC fund has invested (directly or indirectly) in Byju’s, Zomato, Oyo, Ola, Unacademy, Druva, Freshworks, and Mu Sigma, among many others startups.

Some of Sequoia India’s recent investments include Dozer, Hatica, FitBudd, Rigi, Dyte, Kenko Health, Jupiter, and Multiplier.

2. Blume Ventures

Founded on the belief to create a fund that can move as fast as angel investors do, and yet be institutionalised in its approach, Blume Ventures is one of India’s leading homegrown early-stage venture capital firms. 

The venture capital firm has invested in startups hailing from every possible industry.

Some recent funding rounds in which Blume Ventures has participated include- Pixxel, earKart, STAGE, Vecmocon, Lucidity, Futwork, Scribble, LambdaTest, and Pixxel.

3. Accel

Formerly known as Accel Partners, Accel, with India-focused funds, invests in early-stage startups.

Working with startups in seed, early and growth-stage investments, the investment firm counts Indian startups such as Cure.fit and Swiggy, among others in its portfolio. 

In March 2022, the firm announced its seventh India fund with a corpus of $650 million to back Indian startups. Brick&Bolt, Virgio, Jify, MoooFarm and Trinker are some of Accel India’s recent investments.

4. 100X.VC

The Mumbai-based venture capital firm provides startups with a seed capital of INR 2.5 million. 100X.VC is the first VC to invest in early-stage startups using India SAFE (India Simple Agreement for Future Equity) Notes.

100X.VC participated in nine funding deals in quarter Q3 of 2020, including investments in seed-stage startups from various sectors such as Mindpeers, BatteryPool, and Pracify.

In April 2022, the Mumbai-based venture capital firm announced its plan to invest Rs 125 crores (over US $16.5M) in 100 early-stage startups in the next 12 months.

5. Mumbai Angels Network

Started in 2006, Mumbai Angels Network (The MA Network) is India’s premier investment platform focused on investments in new ventures. Presently, the venture investing platform has a 130+ strong portfolio with 30+ exits. In Quarter Q3 of 2020, Mumbai Angels was one of the investors in defence tech startup Big Bang Boom Solutions and invested $1.5 Mn in a Series A funding round.

The investment platform has invested in startups like Myntra, Purplle, InMobi, and Dhruva Space.

Mumbai Angels Network recently invested in Sugar Watchers, WCube, a B2B Procurement Enablement Solution for Large and Mid-sized Enterprises.

6. Kalaari Capital

Passionate about investing in entrepreneurs, Kalaari Capital manages funds of around $650M. With a strong advisory team in Bangalore, Kalaari Capital invests in early-stage, technology-oriented companies in India.

Kalaari Capital’s portfolio includes startups like MYNTRA (exited), VERNACULAR.AI, Dream 11, SNAP DEAL (Exited), Scoop Whoop, WinZo, MALL91, among others.

The most recent investment made by Kalaari Capital was in November 2022, when AlmaBetter, an upskilling platform, raised $2.7 million in a seed funding round. A few investments made by Kalaari Capital in 2023 include HerKey, HealthPlix, Studio Sirah, and Chara Technologies.

7. Matrix Partners India

Established in 2006, Matrix Partners India invests across a variety of sectors, including consumer technology, B2B, enterprise, and fintech. Presently, the investment firm has $1B+ under management and has made 60+ investments in India.

The portfolio of the investment firm includes startups like OLA, Razorpay, DAILY HUNT, Country Delight and CAMP K12.

Some recent investments of Matrix Partners India include GenWise, Park+, ZippMat, Sourcewiz, XYXX, Vegrow, FarMart, and 100ms.

8. Elevation Capital

Elevation Capital, formerly known as SAIF Partners, is an early-stage venture capital firm. The VC firm has startups like ACKO, First Cry, FINWEGO, Just Dial, and Make My Trip, among many others in its portfolio.

Elevation Capital has had 47 exits, and its most notable exits include Urban Ladder, IndiaMART, and 58.com. The VC firm recently launched its eighth India-dedicated fund at $670 million.

Some recent funding rounds in which Elevation Capital has participated include- Mesa School of Busines, The Souled Store, Bluelearn, Profit.co, Curelink, CityMall and Turnip.

9. 3one4 Capital

3one4 Capital is an early-stage venture capital firm based in Bangalore, India.

The firm’s focus areas include machine-driven actionable intelligence services for the enterprise, enterprise automation, ambient intelligence technologies, consumer products, fintech, media and multi-lingual content generation, and health.

The venture capital firm manages a corpus of INR 800 Cr (+$110Mil) and a portfolio of 50+ investments across the early stage. Some of the investments made by 3one4 include Licious, Betterplace, Open, ToneTag, DarwinBox, Faircent, Bugworks, and Tracxn.

In March 2022, the firm invested in KukuFM, an audio stories and podcasting platform. Earlier in January, 3one4 Capital invested in Bengaluru-based healthtech startup Dozee. This year, a few investments made by 3one4 include Ripplr, Growfin and Breathe Well-being.

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