The 5 Most Iconic Startup Investments in India
India’s startup ecosystem has produced some of the world’s most remarkable investment stories. From Flipkart and Ola to Zomato and Ather Energy, a few bold investors made bets that turned into multi-billion-dollar success stories. In this article, we cover the top 5 startup investments in India, their returns, and how they shaped entire industries.
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India’s startup ecosystem has seen some truly historic investments—bets that not only delivered unbelievable returns but also reshaped entire industries and signaled to the world that India was ready for internet-first companies.
Picking just five was incredibly hard. But here’s our list of the Top 5 Startup Investments in India’s History—ranked not only by returns but also by the long-lasting impact they created.
#5. Titan Capital’s Early Bet on Urban Company
💰 Investment: ₹57 lakh
📈 Exit Value (2024): ₹111 crore (~200x returns)
The year was 2015. Jio hadn’t yet launched, and mobile data in India cost nearly ₹250 per GB.
In the middle of this, three young founders decided to organize India’s massive—but completely unorganized—home services market. Everything from electricians to carpenters to cleaners. Their idea? Train them, bring them onto a platform, and make their services accessible online.
The problem was: this business model had no global precedent. The founders had no track record. And at that time, nobody believed Indian customers would pay for something like this.
Nobody, except Kunal Bahl and Rohit Bansal—founders of Snapdeal and Titan Capital. They invested just ₹57 lakh in seed funding when no one else would touch the company.
That single bet changed everything. Larger VCs like Accel and SAIF Partners soon followed, and within months, UrbanClap (now Urban Company) raised a $10 million Series A.
Fast forward to today: the company is valued at over $2 billion, and Titan exited in 2024 with ₹111 crore—nearly 200x returns.
👉 But the money isn’t the only story here. This investment proved that Indians were ready to pay for digital-first services, years before it became mainstream.
#4. Anupam Mittal’s Legendary Angel Investment in Ola
💰 Investment: ₹30 lakh (~5% stake)
📈 Total Gains: Several hundred crore (~1500x returns, realized + unrealized)
In 2011, Anupam Mittal—founder of Shaadi.com—was still new to startup investing. When Ola’s founders first pitched the idea, he wasn’t convinced. After all, in cities like Mumbai and New York, getting a cab wasn’t such a big deal.
But then, on a trip to Delhi, he struggled to find a taxi. That moment changed everything. He immediately called Bhavish Aggarwal, Ola’s young co-founder, and decided to invest.
His cheque? Just ₹30 lakh, for around 5% of the company.
At the time, Ola’s valuation was just ₹5–6 crore. Within months, Tiger Global entered with a $3.87 million Series A, and the ride-hailing revolution in India had begun.
Over the years, Anupam partially exited, making several hundred crores—estimates range anywhere between ₹230 crore to ₹600–700 crore. Even today, he still holds a stake worth hundreds of crores.
👉 In total, his realized + unrealized gains are easily in the ₹500–1,000 crore range—a staggering 1,500x return in about 13 years.
This wasn’t just a financial win. It was the birth of India’s ride-hailing industry.
#3. Hero MotoCorp’s Strategic Investment in Ather Energy
💰 Initial Investment: ₹180 crore (26% stake)
📈 Current Value: ~₹7,000 crore (40% stake) (~4–5x returns, but massive strategic value)
This one is special because it wasn’t just about money. It was about building India’s EV ecosystem.
Founded in 2013 at IIT Madras, Ather Energy started by working on better batteries. But they soon realized India’s electric scooters were deeply flawed, and decided to build the entire vehicle themselves.
In 2016, they unveiled their first smart scooter—the Ather S340. That caught the eye of Pawan Munjal, CEO of Hero MotoCorp.
He didn’t just want to invest—he wanted to partner. Hero invested ₹180 crore for a 26% stake. Over time, Hero put in more than ₹1,700 crore, building its stake up to 40%.
Today, Ather is valued at about $2 billion, making Hero’s stake worth nearly ₹7,000 crore.
👉 Financially, that’s a 4–5x return. But the real significance? This was one of the first times a traditional Indian automaker partnered with a young startup to build the future together.
In the US, such partnerships are common (think Ford–Rivian or GM–Nikola). In India, Hero and Ather showed it could be done—and done well.
#2. Accel’s Turning Point Investment in Flipkart
💰 Initial Investment: $1 million (~₹4.8 crore)
📈 Exit Value (2018, Walmart acquisition): ~$2 billion (~30x returns)
Back in 2008, Flipkart was an eight-member team working out of Sachin and Binny Bansal’s apartment in Bangalore. They didn’t even have an office.
E-commerce in India was practically nonexistent. Digital payments were rare. Even Amazon wasn’t in India yet. Most VCs didn’t see a market.
But Accel Partners, one of the world’s largest VC firms, saw potential. They wrote a cheque of $1 million—a bold bet at the time.
That move signaled to the world that India was ready for internet-first companies. Within a year, Tiger Global came in with $10 million, and Flipkart’s journey took off.
Over the next few years, Accel invested around $60–80 million. When Walmart acquired Flipkart in 2018 for $16 billion, Accel’s stake returned nearly $2 billion—a 30x return.
👉 More importantly, this was the turning point for India’s VC industry. It showed that Indian startups could scale into world-class consumer internet companies.
#1. Info Edge’s Legendary Bet on Zomato
💰 Initial Investment: $1 million (~₹4.7 crore)
📈 Current Value (2025): ~₹40,000 crore (~272x returns)
Back in 2010, Zomato wasn’t Zomato. It was a small restaurant discovery site called Foodiebay.
When Sanjeev Bikhchandani, founder of Info Edge (Naukri, Jeevansathi, 99acres), first met the team, his first advice was simple: change the name. “Foodiebay” sounded too much like eBay. Soon after, the platform was reborn as Zomato.
While most VCs thought food delivery was too small for India, Sanjeev saw it differently. He had already built consumer tech platforms and understood how Indian spending power was changing.
So, in August 2010, Info Edge invested $1 million (₹4.7 crore) for an 18.5% stake.
Unlike other investors, Sanjeev doubled down in every round: $3.5 million in Series A (2011), $2.3 million in Series B (2012), and $10 million in Series C (2013). By then, Info Edge had invested ₹86 crore and owned a 57% majority stake.
By Zomato’s IPO in 2021, the stake had diluted to ~18%, but it was worth tens of thousands of crores. Info Edge sold a small portion for ₹3,000 crore, and still holds around 15%, valued at ₹37,000 crore.
👉 In total: on an investment of ₹147 crore, Info Edge made about ₹40,000 crore—a jaw-dropping 272x return.
But beyond the money, Sanjeev’s mentorship was priceless. From IPO timing to acquisitions like Grofers, Zomato’s founders had an investor who had already built consumer internet companies in India.
That founder–investor match is one of the biggest reasons Zomato succeeded.
Final Thoughts
From Anupam Mittal’s ₹30 lakh cheque to Ola, to Accel’s $1 million bet on Flipkart, to Info Edge’s unwavering faith in Zomato—these investments weren’t just about money.
They were about conviction. About believing in ideas that looked crazy at the time. And about backing founders when no one else would.
That’s why these five deals remain the most legendary startup investments in India’s history.
📌 Quick Recap Table
| Rank | Investor | Company | Year | Investment | Returns | Impact |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Info Edge (Sanjeev Bikhchandani) | Zomato | 2010 | ₹147 cr total | ₹40,000 cr (~272x) | Built India’s food-tech giant |
| 2 | Accel Partners | Flipkart | 2008 | $60–80m total | ~$2B (~30x) | Kickstarted India’s VC boom |
| 3 | Hero MotoCorp | Ather Energy | 2016 | ₹1,700 cr total | ₹7,000 cr (~5x) | Corporate-startup EV partnership |
| 4 | Anupam Mittal | Ola | 2011 | ₹30 lakh | Several 100 cr (~1500x) | Created India’s ride-hailing industry |
| 5 | Titan Capital (Kunal & Rohit Bansal) | Urban Company | 2015 | ₹57 lakh | ₹111 cr (~200x) | Proved Indians pay for digital services |