From Deepika Padukone to Yuvraj Singh, star-led family offices expand startup exposure cautiously
Deal activity spanned both late and early stages, but selectively. The Bachchan family office participated in a Series K round of Swiggy in August 2024. Actress Deepika Padukone invested earlier in Purplle in 2018
India's celebrity-backed single-family offices are stepping up investments in startups, targeting consumer and digital businesses, although their influence remains marginal compared to institutional venture capital firms.
Single Family Offices (SFOs) linked to figures such as Amitabh Bachchan and Deepika Padukone have emerged as selective participants in funding rounds, typically favouring sectors aligned with consumption trends and brand adjacency. The Bachchan family office participated in a Series K round of Swiggy in August 2024. Actress Deepika Padukone invested earlier in Purplle in 2018.
"Their capital is typically deployed at the early stage (seed to pre-Series A), often alongside VCs or angel networks, with ticket sizes that are modest but strategic," Sanaa Zia Khan- Director, Centricity Overseas Financial Distribution, said.
An SFO manages the wealth of a single family, enabling centralized decision-making and flexible capital deployment, often with longer investment horizons than traditional funds.
According to Neha Singh, chairperson and Managing Director of Tracxn, direct-to-consumer e-commerce startups linked to these investors have collectively raised more than $6.4 billion, followed by online grocery at $5 billion, marketplaces at $4.9 billion, and food technology at $4.8 billion.
Industry executives said the appeal lies in the nature of capital. "Family office capital is operator-led, so there is a much stronger understanding of how businesses and cycles actually work," said Madhav Kasturia, founder & CEO at Zippee. "There is less reliance on evaluation frameworks and more focus on execution".
Notably, early-stage exposure is less. YouWeCan Ventures, founded by Yuvraj Singh, backed Vyomo in its seed round, one of a limited number of such bets.
Citing industry estimates, Khan said that celebrity-backed family offices have deployed ~$1-2 billion cumulatively in Indian startups. This sits within a much larger domestic capital base, where family offices contribute roughly ~35-40% of startup funding in recent years.
Analysts said the trend reflects growing domestic wealth entering venture markets, but cautioned that celebrity -led capital is not yet reshaping the ecosystem. "Celebrity family offices in India reflect growing domestic risk capital and aspirational confidence in startups, especially consumer, fintech, and D2C," said Prathiv Kamdar, partner at Deloitte India. "However, capital deployment is still modest and selective compared to institutional VCs".
Others said their presence can still affect deal dynamics. Apoorva Vora, co-founder of Finvolve, said celebrity-backed investors can improve startup visibility and access, while also helping companies with partnerships and distribution through their networks.
The rise of such offices coincides with a broader expansion of India's family office landscape. PwC estimated that the number of family offices has increased to more than 300 by mid-2024, from 45 in 2018, driven by a growing base of high-net-worth individuals. Many are diversifying beyond traditional assets, with startups emerging as an area of interest. In absolute terms, HNIs and family offices deployed around $10 billion into startups and alternative assets in 2024 alone, around 3-fold from 2019.
Whether allocations accelerate further remained uncertain amid geopolitical tensions and market volatility, with investors balancing risk exposure against the prospect of long-term growth in India's digital economy.
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