There were a number of startups that got funded in 2017 and a number of VC firms that funded them but there is only one VC firm that tops the list. Among the VC firms that funded startups in 2017, it turns out that the VC firm, Venture Catalysts, pumped in the maximum amount of money to fund startups. Hence, it is the top investor in 2017. Venture Catalysts had invested a total sum of Rs. 315 crores in 33 startups in 2017. This amount of Rs. 315 crores is ten folds more than what it invested in startups during 2016. Read more on VC Firms
Venture Catalysts was founded during 2016 and has a network of 3,000 angel investors. The other prominent VC firms that funded Indian startups during 2017 are Indian Angel Network (IAN), LetsVenture and Kae Capital but Venture Catalysts overtook them all in investment amounts and has become the top investor for 2017. Sixteen other VC firms also invested small sums in Indian startups during the same year. The VC firm, Blume Ventures grabbed the second position during the same year by investing in 23 startups. Indian Angel Network (IAN) and Kae Capital stood at 3rd and 4th place respectively by investing in sixteen and fifteen startups respectively.
Apoorv Ranjan Sharma, co-founder and President of Venture Catalysts said that the VC firm was closely monitoring all the promising and innovative startups in India so that it can invest in them and help them scale up globally. He also said that the real need of the hour as far as Indian startups were concerned was that the Government of India should step up investments in Indian startups so that the scheme, launched by PM, Narendra Modi, ‘Startup India Stand up India’ can serve its purpose and live up to its expectations.
“India has been emerging as a unicorn nation, and has the potential to be the start-up hub of the world in the near future. Realising this potential will require all stakeholders to come together and join forces to give the country’s entrepreneurial ecosystem a big boost”, Apoorv Ranjan Sharma said.
He also mentioned that the High Net worth Individuals (HNIs) in India are becoming increasingly involved in investing in startups. This trend according to him closely mirrors the startup ecosystem in the US.
“Only 3 per cent of US citizens were investing in start-ups during the 1980s, that percentage increased to 49 per cent by 1999. This was the time when many unicorns, including Amazon, emerged in the US. India is also in a similar trajectory, and we are trying to create a pan-India network and provide early-stage capital to start-ups even in the smaller cities”, Apoorv Ranjan Sharma added.
Venture Catalysts has funded startups from seven Indian cities this year (2017) and also two Indian startups having operations abroad. The startups that got funded from Venture Catalysts this year include vPhrase, Deyor Camps, ConfirmTkt, Fynd, Supr Daily and Innov8. Venture Catalyst has made an average investment between Rs. 1 to 5 crores in these startups during this year (2017). What’s even more heartening is that all the startups, Venture Catalysts had invested in have achieved break even this year. Judging by the startup events in 2017, we can safely conclude that with a little investment from the Indian Government in Indian Startups, a lot of promising and innovative Indian startups can truly become MNCs. Read more on Startup News
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