From Mamaearth to Phool: Shilpa Shetty, MS Dhoni, Sachin Tendulkar, Alia Bhatt among celebrity investors to back startups

While market traders keep a keen eye on which stocks celebrity investors like Vijay Kedia or Madhusudan Kela are buying and selling, Bollywood stars like Shilpa Shetty Kundra, Alia Bhatt and Shraddha Kapoor, as well as cricket legends Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni are quietly investing in Indian startups.

A recent report by Tracxn listed 10 celebrities with the highest number of disclosed startup investments in India between 2021 and 2026 so far. They cumulatively took part in 49 disclosed funding rounds across 34 startups, with a combined disclosed round value of $458 million (nearly Rs 4,328 crore).

Shilpa Shetty Kundra’s startup bets


Leading the pack is actress Shilpa Shetty Kundra, who tops the list having participated in 10 disclosed funding rounds. Her portfolio spans a wide range of industries, including health-focused food brands, tech solutions, and personal care. Among her notable investments are food and beverage startup WickedGud (participating across Series A and Seed rounds), online grocery platform KisanKonnect, peanut butter brand Alpino, air pollution management tech firm Sustainiam, fashion tech brand Limelight, and early-stage backing in beauty unicorn Mamaearth.

Shilpa Shetty Kundra took part in Mamaearth’s $755,000 funding round as an angel investor in 2022. The company’s parent Honasa Consumer made a muted debut on stock markets back in 2023. The shares of the company listed with a premium of nearly 2% over the IPO price at Rs 330 apiece on NSE in November 2023. The stock has so far risen around 51% since then.

Also read | Mamaearth parent Honasa Consumer targets Rs 5,500 cr revenue by FY31

Where is ‘Thala’ MS Dhoni investing?

Cricket icon and former Indian men’s cricket team captain MS Dhoni follows closely with six disclosed funding rounds, showing a strong interest in sustainable energy, tech, and lifestyle. His highest-value participation during the period came in solar energy company SolarSquare's $53 million Series C round.

Beyond solar, Dhoni has backed drone maker Garuda Aerospace, EV maker EMotorrad, OTT platform Rigi TV, fitness chain Tagda Raho, and plant-based food tech brand Shaka Harry.

Sachin Tendulkar’s startup bets

Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar also matches Dhoni with six disclosed funding rounds, showing deep conviction in auto e-commerce startup Spinny. Tendulkar participated in five separate funding rounds for Spinny, ranging from its early angel stages to its massive $250 million Series E round that cemented its unicorn status. The cricket legend often features in the company’s advertisements. It is a used car end-to-end platform that lets customers buy and sell pre-owned cars.

Outside of auto e-commerce, he also holds a stake in men's apparel brand XYXX. The company claims to be a comfort-first men's innerwear brand.

Shraddha Kapoor’s startup bets

Bollywood actress Shraddha Kapoor participated in five disclosed investment rounds with a major focus on fashion, mobility, and wellness, according to the list published by Tracxn. Her largest deal took place in fashion tech platform Purple Style Labs' $12 million Series E round.

Purple Style Labs, the parent company of luxury fashion omnichannel platform Pernia's Pop-Up Shop, made a muted market debut on Monday, listing at a 7% discount over IPO price. Along with Shraddha Kapoor, several other celebrities backed the company. Its publicly disclosed celebrity investors include Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan and his family, Sachin Tendulkar, Madhuri Dixit and Mahesh Babu.

Also read | SRK, Madhuri Dixit-backed Purple Style Labs makes weak D-Street debut. Should you buy?

Shraddha Kapoor has also doubled down on clean mobility with two separate seed investments in EV startup Chargeup, alongside bets in nutraceuticals firm Shunya and K-12 EdTech platform Stones2Milestones.

What are other celebrities betting on?

Star cricketer and former India men's captain Virat Kohli participated in five disclosed rounds, placing his money in sports footwear, food tech, and consumer goods. He backed footwear startup Agilitas across two $5 million Series C rounds, while also taking stakes in coffee brand Rage Coffee across two rounds and plant-based protein brand Blue Tribe.

Alia Bhatt participated in four disclosed investment rounds in companies aligned with sustainability and parenting. She was an early investor in popular eco-friendly home care startup Phool (participating in two Series A rounds) and backed sustainable mom-and-baby care brand Ed-a-Mamma, which was later acquired by Reliance Retail. She also invested in mom-and-baby care platform SuperBottoms.

Anushka Sharma participated in four disclosed rounds focused heavily on clean eating and athletic wear. Like Kohli, she invested in footwear brand Agilitas' $24 million Series C round. Her other food and wellness bets include two rounds in healthy snack maker Slurrp Farm and an angel round in plant protein brand Blue Tribe.

Ranveer Singh participated in three disclosed funding rounds. His investments include men's sexual health and wellness brand Bold Care, cosmetics giant Sugar Cosmetics, and Deepika Padukone’s personal care brand 82°E.

Indian men's cricket opening batsman Rohit Sharma participated in three disclosed rounds in logtech, eco-friendly consumer goods, and deep tech. His portfolio includes logistics tech provider Prozo, eco-conscious home care brand Beco, and drone technology company TechEagle.

Rounding out Tracxn’s top ten list is actor Suniel Shetty with three disclosed funding rounds targeting industrial innovation, edtech, and men's grooming. Shetty has backed industrial safety and deep-tech startup Proxgy, EdTech company Klassroom, and men's beauty brand MetaMan.

Also read | Ashish Kacholia's portfolio: How ace investor's top 5 stock holdings performed in one month?

Disclosure: "This article has been written by Debaroti Adhikary, who is not a SEBI-registered Research Analyst or an Investment Adviser. Debaroti Adhikary and her ‘relative(s)’ (as defined under Section 2(77) of the Companies Act, 2013) do not hold any financial interest in the companies mentioned in this article as of the date of publication. The views/recommendations mentioned in this article, wherever applicable, are those of the respective SEBI-registered Research Analyst/brokerage and have been reproduced/reported with due attribution. They should not be construed as the views or recommendations of The EconomicTimes Digital or the journalist. Readers are advised to consider the original research report and make their investment decisions based on their own assessment."