Round backed by public‑market veterans, corporates and Bollywood family offices; capital earmarked for leadership hires, AI‑driven tools and deeper presence across India
Venture Catalysts, the Mumbai‑headquartered multi‑stage venture investing platform, has closed a ₹150 crore (≈US$18 million) funding round comprising a mix of primary and secondary transactions. The company said the proceeds will be used for leadership expansion, the launch of new funds, technology upgrades—including AI‑enabled diligence and LP reporting—and geographic expansion across key startup hubs.
The round drew participation from a cross‑section of India’s capital markets and business community. New backers include Ashish Kacholia and group, Authum Investments, Aishwarya Rai, Karthik Sundar Iyer, Hardik Patel of Finquest, LNB Group, Mukul Agarwal, Shahrukh Khan Family Office, Sakal Media Group, Utpal Sheth and Vinod Dugar of RDB Group. They join existing investors such as Radhakishan Damani (DMart), Kamal Agarwal (Haldiram), Enam Securities, Capri Global, Anil Singhvi (Zee Business) alongside founder‑investors Aman Gupta (boAt), Ritesh Agarwal (OYO), Nirmit Parikh (Apna) Srinath Ramakkrushnan (Zetwerk).
Founded in 2016 as an angel network, Venture Catalysts has evolved into a two‑pronged platform spanning a syndication business that deploys deal‑by‑deal capital through Angel Fund AIFs and a venture capital arm that co‑creates and incubates Category II AIFs with emerging managers and institutional anchors. The group manages north of US$500 million across vehicles, with approximately US$200 million deployed via syndication over nine years from UHNIs, HNIs and family offices.
The AIF lineup currently includes 100 Unicorns (sector‑agnostic idea‑stage accelerator fund; ~US$100 million; launched 2021), Beams Fintech Fund (India’s first growth‑stage fintech vehicle; ~US$90 million; launched 2022), Elev8 Venture Partners (final close ~US$160 million; targets Series B/C) and Spyre PropTech Venture Fund (India’s first proptech‑focused vehicle; ~US$50 million; launched 2025). The firm also operates VC Grid, an invite‑only community for family offices, corporate venture arms and UHNWIs.
Over the past decade, the platform has backed 400‑plus companies across categories, naming Renee Cosmetics, InsuranceDekho, Assiduus Global, Wiom and Kissan Konnect among category leaders. Unicorn outcomes include BharatPe and Pixis. Venture Catalysts points to notable liquidity events and follow‑ons including BharatPe, Zypp Electric, Rare Planet, ImpactGuru and Homeville, as well as strategic transactions or rounds around Astrotalk, VideoVerse and Let’s Try, and deals involving Marico (Beardo), IBM (Prescinto) and ixigo (Confirmtkt). The firm says cumulative deployment across strategies is approaching US$340 million, positioning it among leading domestic VC platforms.
“We are delighted to welcome such a diverse and experienced group of investors. Their confidence affirms our vision of empowering entrepreneurs across all growth stages—from idea‑stage ventures through hyper‑growth companies—while fostering vibrant accelerator communities and alumni networks,” said Anuj Golecha, Co-Founder, Venture Catalysts. “This fresh capital will deepen active deal flow, seed new fund strategies and enhance the technology backbone that supports our ecosystem—particularly AI‑driven solutions that enable investors and founders to collaborate at speed and scale.”
The company indicated that over the next few quarters it will onboard senior talent across investing, product and platform, expand its Category II AIF suite and strengthen on‑ground coverage across India’s top startup corridors.