Indian celebrities are doubling down on startup bets, with repeat investments rising: Tracxn

Indian celebrities are increasingly returning to startups they have already backed, rather than limiting their participation to one-off investments, according to a new report by private market intelligence platform Tracxn.

The 10 celebrities tracked by Tracxn participated in 49 disclosed funding rounds across 34 India-headquartered startups between January 2021 and 2026 YTD, with the rounds carrying a combined disclosed value of around $458 million. The report, however, clarifies that the figure represents the total value of the funding rounds and not the amount invested by the celebrities themselves.

The report ranks celebrities by the number of disclosed funding rounds they participated in and says it is “not a ranking of total capital invested or public profile”.

Repeat bets account for nearly half of rounds

The biggest trend emerging from the data is the extent to which celebrities have continued backing companies already present in their portfolios.

Nine celebrity-company pairs accounted for 22 of the 49 disclosed rounds, meaning nearly 45% of all rounds involved repeat participation by the same celebrity in the same company.

Cricketer Sachin Tendulkar stands out with five disclosed rounds in used-car platform Spinny between 2021 and 2025. His participation includes Spinny's $250 million Series E round in November 2021, followed by four further disclosed rounds between September 2022 and September 2025.

Actor Shilpa Shetty Kundra, who tops the overall ranking with 10 rounds, participated in three separate funding rounds in food and beverage startup WickedGud and two rounds in online grocery platform KisanKonnect.

The report notes that where a celebrity invested in the same company across multiple funding rounds, “each round is listed as a separate entry in the table.”

Shilpa Shetty leads celebrity investor ranking

Shetty leads the list with 10 disclosed rounds, followed by MS Dhoni and Sachin Tendulkar with six each. Shraddha Kapoor and Virat Kohli have five rounds each, while Alia Bhatt and Anushka Sharma have four each.

Ranveer Singh, Rohit Sharma and Suniel Shetty have three disclosed rounds apiece.

Dhoni's investments cover a wider range of sectors, including solar energy, drones, electric vehicles, fitness, food technology and OTT video. His latest disclosed investment in the period was a $53 million Series C round in SolarSquare in June 2026.

Anushka Sharma also remained active in 2026, participating in a $24 million Series C round in footwear company Agilitas in May.

Celebrity capital tends to enter early

The report also shows a preference for early-stage startup funding. Of the 49 disclosed rounds, 27 or 55% were Angel or Seed rounds, while another 13 were Series A.

The 34 startups span sectors including food and beverage, beauty and personal care, fashion, mobility, education, logistics, drones and solar energy. Maharashtra accounted for 15 of the startups, including 12 in Mumbai, followed by Haryana with six, Karnataka with five and Delhi with three.

Several celebrity-backed companies have also progressed to major liquidity or ownership events. Five of the 34 companies have reached an acquisition or public-listing event, including Mamaearth, Klassroom, Ed-a-Mamma, Shunya and Purple Style Labs.