Despite being an influential philanthropist and an industry veteran, the former Chairman of Tata Sons, Ratan Naval Tata is also an avid investor, who has made numerous investments in several startups. As an angel investor from Mumbai, Ratan Tata has reportedly invested in around 50-plus companies till now, ever since he retired from the helm of Tata Groups.
Tata once said, “The startup industry and the young founders of this are the new leaders of Indian industry. The old smokestack industries will always be there, but they will recede into the background in terms of excitement, in terms of innovation, in terms of ingenuity and in many cases, we hope in many more cases of great success. Not only in India, but elsewhere in the world.”
Here is a hand-picked list of some of the funding made by Ratan Tata in the startup ecosystem.
1. Goodfellows
The most recent launch and funding came from the part of Ratan Tata was to this senior-focused startup. Founded by Ratan Tata’s 30-year old Manager Shantanu Naidu, Goodfellows aims to help the elderly people by pairing them with young and educated graduates for meaningful companionship. Tata invested in Goodfellows in a Seed funding round on August 17, 2022.
2. Ola Electric
In 2019, as part of a Series A funding round, Ratan Tata invested an undisclosed amount in this Bengaluru-based Indian electric two-wheeler manufacturer. Tata is also an early investor in ANI Technologies Pvt Ltd, Ola’s parent company.
3. Paytm
Ratan Tata made an investment in Paytm by raising funding in March 2015 for One97 Communications – the parent company of digital payments platform. Founded in 2010 by Vijay Shekhar Sharma, Paytm is an Indian multinational financial technology company that specializes in digital payments and financial services, based in Noida.
4. Firstcry
E-commerce platform for baby care sector Firstcry has received a funding from Ratan Tata in 2016. The company, headquartered in Pune, is the brain-child of Supam Maheswari, launched in 2010.
5. Zivame
Online lingerie platform founded in 2011 by Richa Kar and Kapil Karekar, Zivame also saw funding from the industrialist. Ratan Tata invested in the company in September 2015, where the company had disclosed that the amount received will be utilized for product and technology development.
6. Cashkaro
Launched in 2013 by the duo duo Rohan and Swati Bhargava, the company was soon backed by Ratan Tata. Tata Sons Chairman Ratan Tata, invested in the company in 2016, after CashKaro had raised INR 25 crores from the venture capital firm, Kalaari Capital.2016 after CashKaro had raised INR 25 crores from the venture capital firm, Kalaari Capital.
Exciting news! Channel IAM English is now on WhatsApp Channels. Click the link to subscribe and stay up to date with the latest Startups-Entrepreneurship-Technology insights. Click here!
