Shilpa Shetty beats Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni: 10 celebrities with the highest number of startup investment rounds

Bollywood and cricket stars are no longer limiting their business bets to endorsements and brand deals. Several celebrities are actively putting money into India’s startup ecosystem, backing companies across food, fashion, mobility, technology and wellness. According to data from Tracxn, Shilpa Shetty Kundra leads the latest ranking with 10 disclosed startup investment rounds between 2021 and 2026 YTD. MS Dhoni and Sachin Tendulkar follow with six rounds each, while Virat Kohli has participated in five.

Shilpa Shetty tops the celebrity investor list

Shilpa Shetty Kundra emerges as the most active celebrity investor in the ranking, with 10 disclosed funding rounds involving India-headquartered startups during the period.

Her investments span several sectors, including food and beverages, online grocery, fashion technology, beauty and personal care, and air pollution management technology. Among the disclosed rounds listed by Tracxn are investments in WickedGud, LimeLight, Kisankonnect, Sustainiam, Alpino and Mamaearth.


Her disclosed rounds include a $2 million Series A in WickedGud in October 2025, an $85,000 angel round in LimeLight in August 2025 and a $5 million Series A in Kisankonnect in January 2025. She also participated in a $1 million seed round in Sustainiam in September 2024 and two angel rounds in Alpino worth $1 million and $612,000 in 2024. Earlier, she invested in Kisankonnect through a $5 million seed round in May 2023, while WickedGud raised $610,000 in a seed round in the same month. Her Mamaearth investment listed in the data was an $755,000 angel round in September 2022.

MS Dhoni has six disclosed startup investment rounds

Former India captain MS Dhoni ranks next with six disclosed rounds. His portfolio covers solar energy, drones, electric vehicles, fitness and wellness, food technology and OTT video. His biggest disclosed investment in the period is a $53 million Series C round in solar energy company Solar Square in June 2026. He also participated in a $12 million Series A round for OTT video company Rigi TV in January 2023.

Other investments include a $4 million Series B round in drone company Garuda Aerospace, a $154,000 angel round in electric vehicle company EMotorad, a $60,000 angel round in fitness and wellness company Tagda Raho and a $595,000 seed round in plant-based food technology company Shaka Harry. Dhoni’s startup activity has also previously drawn attention because of his investment in Shaka Harry, a plant protein startup. Earlier reporting noted that the cricketer backed the company by picking up equity.

Sachin Tendulkar makes six startup bets

Sachin Tendulkar also has six disclosed funding rounds in the Tracxn ranking. Five of the disclosed rounds shown in the data involve Spinny, the auto e-commerce and content company. Tendulkar participated in rounds ranging from an $81? Wait, the supplied data shows $581,000, $666,000, $602,000, $518,000 and $250 million across the listed Spinny rounds.

He also invested in Xyxx, an apparel brand, through an $8 million Series A round in June 2021. Tendulkar's startup portfolio has previously included Spinny and Azad Engineering. A 2023 report citing Tracxn also noted his investment in digital entertainment technology company JetSynthesys.

Shraddha Kapoor's investments

Bollywood star Shraddha Kapoor is proving to be a powerhouse investor off-screen, backing five distinct funding rounds totaling roughly $22.44 million. From late 2021 to mid-2024, the savvy actress diversified her portfolio across trendy sectors. Her major plays include a massive $12 million Series E in PSL (Fashion Tech) and $10 million in Chargeup (Electric Vehicles), alongside strategic bets on innovative EdTech- Stones2Milestones and Nutraceuticals-Shunya startups.

Virat Kohli records five disclosed rounds

Virat Kohli features next with five disclosed investment rounds. His startup bets include footwear and food and beverage companies, as well as food technology. The data shows two separate $5 million Series C rounds in footwear company Agilitas, dated June 2025 and March 2025. Kohli also participated in two $5 million Series A rounds in coffee company Rage Coffee, in March 2022 and August 2021. His fifth disclosed investment was a $27,000 angel round in food technology company Blue Tribe in February 2022.

Kohli is among several prominent Indian cricketers who have increasingly taken on the role of startup investors. Tracxn data has previously identified Kohli, Tendulkar and Dhoni among celebrities backing multiple Indian startups.

Alia Bhatt's savvy investments

Alia Bhatt is dominating the business world as a savvy investor, backing eco-conscious and family-focused startups. The Bollywood star has poured millions into sustainable brands, including $5M into her conscious clothing label Ed-a-Mamma and $2M into baby care brand SuperBottoms. She has also fueled the wellness startup Phool across two massive Series A rounds totaling $10M, proving her star power extends far beyond the silver screen.

Anushka Sharma’s tasteful ventures

Anushka Sharma is strategically building a diverse investment portfolio centered around sustainability and lifestyle choices. Her major financial commitments kickstarted with healthy food and beverage brand Slurrp Farm, securing $7M in a Series B round in late 2021 followed by a $397K Angel round. She expanded into food-tech with Blue Tribe ($27K) and, most recently, stepped into athletic footwear by backing Agilitas in a massive $24M Series C round.

Ranveer Singh’s glam and glow bets

Bollywood’s ultimate trendsetter Ranveer Singh has firmly focused his investments on the beauty and personal care landscape. He backed Deepika Padukone's premium skincare label 82°E with an $8M Seed round in May 2022 before taking an Angel stake worth $138K in cosmetics powerhouse Sugar Cosmetics later that year. Singh further expanded his grooming portfolio by pouring $5M into personal care brand Bold Care in June 2023.

Rohit Sharma’s smart tech playbook

Cricket icon Rohit Sharma is playing a smart game off the pitch by supporting cutting-edge tech and consumer goods. He kicked off his venture journey by investing $500K into drone manufacturer TechEagle. Moving into sustainable everyday products, Sharma backed eco-friendly home care brand BECO with $3M in Series A funding, before diversifying into logistics-tech by chipping in $173K during an Angel round for Prozo.

Suniel Shetty’s high-impact portfolio

Suniel Shetty continues to prove his savvy business acumen through strategic startup investments spanning multiple industries. He entered the personal care sector with a $1M Seed round into MetaMan, followed by a $450K bet on K-12 EdTech platform Klassroom. His latest venture saw him branch into industrial safety tech, backing Proxgy with a solid $3M Series A funding round in September 2024.