Top 10 celebrity investors in Indian startups (2021

Top 10 celebrity investors in Indian startups (2021-2026): Shilpa Shetty tops the list

India's startup ecosystem has increasingly attracted celebrity investors, with actors and sportspersons participating in funding rounds across consumer brands, technology companies, mobility ventures and other new-age businesses.

Tracxn, a global market intelligence platform for private company data, in its latest report, “Notable Celebrity Investors Shaping India’s Startup Ecosystem (2021–2026 YTD),” said Shilpa Shetty Kundra recorded the highest number of disclosed startup investment rounds among the 10 celebrities covered.

The list is based on the number of disclosed funding rounds, rather than the amount of money invested by each celebrity. It covers funding rounds raised by India-headquartered startups between January 1, 2021 and 2026 YTD, where at least one of the 10 featured celebrities participated as an investor. Only rounds with disclosed funding amounts have been considered.

Note: The list does not represent a ranking by total capital invested, returns generated or the size of an individual celebrity's cheque.

Shilpa Shetty leads with 10 disclosed rounds

Shilpa Shetty Kundra participated in 10 disclosed funding rounds during the period, the highest among the celebrities covered by Tracxn.

Her disclosed investments span companies such as WickedGud, KisanKonnect, Alpino, Sustainiam, Limelight Lab Grown Diamonds and Mamaearth. Her participation also includes multiple funding rounds in the same companies. She invested in WickedGud across three disclosed rounds and KisanKonnect across two rounds.

MS Dhoni and Sachin Tendulkar followed with 6 disclosed rounds each

MS Dhoni's investments in the period include SolarSquare, Garuda Aerospace, EMotorad, Tagda Raho, Shaka Harry and Rigi. His disclosed participation includes a $53 million Series C round for SolarSquare in June 2026.

Sachin Tendulkar's six disclosed rounds include five rounds in used-car retail platform Spinny and one in apparel brand XYXX. The Spinny rounds span 2021 to 2025, including its $250 million Series E round in November 2021.

Shraddha Kapoor and Virat Kohli have 5 rounds each

Shraddha Kapoor and Virat Kohli each participated in five disclosed funding rounds during the period.

Shraddha Kapoor's portfolio in the Tracxn list includes Purple Style Labs, Chargeup, Shunya and Stones2Milestones. Her disclosed rounds include two investments in Chargeup, including a $7 million seed round in February 2022 and a $3 million seed round in September 2021.

Virat Kohli's disclosed investments include footwear company Agilitas, Rage Coffee and Blue Tribe. He participated in two disclosed Agilitas rounds in 2025, both classified as Series C rounds, besides two disclosed rounds in Rage Coffee.

Alia Bhatt and Anushka Sharma recorded 4 rounds each

Alia Bhatt and Anushka Sharma each participated in four disclosed rounds.

Alia Bhatt's disclosed investments include SuperBottoms, Ed-a-Mamma and Phool. Her investment activity covers consumer-focused businesses spanning mother and baby care and home care products.

Anushka Sharma's disclosed rounds include Agilitas, Slurrp Farm and Blue Tribe. Her most recent disclosed round in the period was a $24 million Series C round in Agilitas in May 2026.

Ranveer Singh, Rohit Sharma and Suniel Shetty recorded 3 rounds each

Ranveer Singh, Rohit Sharma and Suniel Shetty each participated in three disclosed funding rounds.

Ranveer Singh's investments covered Bold Care, SUGAR Cosmetics and 82°E, all within the beauty and personal care category.

Rohit Sharma's disclosed investments include logistics technology company Prozo, home care products company BECO and drone technology firm TechEagle.

Suniel Shetty's three disclosed rounds include Proxgy, Klassroom and MetaMan, spanning industrial safety, K-12 education technology and beauty and personal care.

The report also shows that celebrity participation has been concentrated in relatively early funding stages.

Of the 49 disclosed rounds, 27, or 55 percent, were Angel or Seed rounds, while another 13 were Series A rounds. This indicates that a significant portion of the disclosed celebrity participation came at the early stages of a company's funding journey.

The 49 rounds covered 34 startups across sectors including food and beverage, beauty and personal care, fashion, mobility, education, logistics, drones and solar energy.

Maharashtra accounted for 15 of the 34 companies, including 12 based in Mumbai. Haryana accounted for six companies, Karnataka five and Delhi three.

Celebrity participation was not limited to one-off investments. According to the report, nine celebrity-company pairs accounted for 22 of the 49 disclosed rounds. The most prominent examples were Sachin Tendulkar's five disclosed rounds in Spinny and Suniel Shetty's three rounds in WickedGud.

Taken together, the 10 celebrities participated in 49 disclosed funding rounds across 34 startups, with the rounds carrying a combined disclosed value of approximately $458 million, according to the report.

However, the figure represents the total disclosed value of the funding rounds and should not be interpreted as the amount personally invested by the celebrities. The data also does not indicate the size of each celebrity's individual contribution to a particular round.

Disclaimer: The views and investment tips expressed by investment experts on Moneycontrol.com are their own and not those of the website or its management. Moneycontrol.com advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions.

Discover the latest Business News, Sensex, and Nifty updates. Obtain Personal Finance insights, tax queries, and expert opinions on Moneycontrol or download the Moneycontrol App to stay updated!

Find the best of Al News in one place, specially curated for you every weekend.

Stay on top of the latest tech trends and biggest startup news.