Celebs turn cold towards startup investments

Reputational risks & shift to safer bets seen as major reason

- S SHANTHI

THE ONCE-BOOMING TREND of celebrities investing in startups seems to be fading. After a surge in 2023, when movie stars and sports personalities eagerly backed young companies, their participation in startup funding has declined significantly.

Analysts broadly attribute this change in trend to reputational risks, shifting to safer investments, higher scrutiny by financial advisers, and high marketing costs.

According to data from Tracxn, 14 celebrities, including Alia Bhatt, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Dia Mirza, Rana Daggubati, Akshay Kumar, and Katrina Kaif, invested in startups across 19 deals in 2023. This number fell to just eight in 2024, with high-profile names like Sachin Tendulkar, Suniel Shetty, Shikhar Dhawan, Gaurav Kapur, Mayank Agarwal, and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan making investments.

So far in 2025, only one celebrity, actor Shilpa Shetty, has made a startup investment, injecting additional capital into Mumbai-based Kisankonnect, a company she first backed in 2023.

This decline in celebrity participation contrasts sharply with the overall funding climate. According to Venture Intelligence, private equity-venture capital (PE-VC) firms invested over $7.9 billion across 270 deals in Indian companies in the first quarter of 2025.

Given the resurgence of capital, one would expect celebrities to follow suit. Yet, their return to the startup space remains subdued.