Baanhem Ventures raises second funding round

Baanhem Ventures, the creator of Tamil Nadu's startup reality show Startup Singam, on Wednesday announced the successful close of its second round of funding while also bringing on board a panel of the state's distinguished business leaders as advisors and investors.

Joining early investor and chief mentor, Kumar Vembu, as new shareholders are Gopal Srinivasan, chairman and MD, TVS Capital Funds; Girish Mathrubootham, founder and executive chairman, Freshworks; Mithun Sacheti, founder, CaratLane; K Mahalingam, partner/director, TSM Group of Companies; Mohan Karuppiah, CEO and cofounder, IppoPay; Shyam Sekhar, founder, ithought Financial Consulting; Ashwini Asokan, founder, Mad Street Den and Vue.ai, and Madhusudanan Rangarajan, managing director, M2P Fintech.

“This is a transformative moment for Baanhem Ventures and Tamil Nadu's startup ecosystem," Baanhem Ventures founders Hemachandran and Balachandar said in a prepared statement. "The guidance and support of such visionary leaders will accelerate our mission of enabling startups with not only investment but also governance, mentorship, and networks through the Startup Singam platform."


The firm said that their collective expertise will accelerate access to capital, unlock strategic growth opportunities, and provide unparalleled mentorship for emerging founders. In all, 35 startups secured over Rs 40 crore in funding commitments in Season 1 of Startup Singam, with 15 already receiving funds to the tune of Rs 13 crore.

In Season 2, the company said Startup Singam will raise the bar with Rs 100 crore in fresh investor commitments, 75 startups selected out of 2,000+ nationwide applications, and more global investors leading the charge.

“Entrepreneurship is Tamil Nadu’s economic backbone. What Baanhem Ventures is enabling through Startup Singam is genuinely inspiring, and I welcome our new shareholders to help make startups in our state grow bigger and better,” Kumar Vembu, chief mentor, Startup Singam, said.