Seeking funding? Here are 10 venture capital firms in India you should meet

We have seen investments into Indian tech startups on an upswing recently, topping US$1.3 billion in FY2013-14 and accounting for 266 deals. We’re getting close to a deal a day. In fact, the first quarter of 2014 had a multi-year high of $427 million. While ecommerce took the lion’s share, online travel and educational tech also attracted increasing interest from investors.

This is a continuation of a trend over the past five years. Between 2010 and 2013, more than US$3 billion flowed into India, which compares well with US$1.5 billion invested in Startup Nation Israel in the same period. This despite the fact that the Indian startup ecosystem is still not mature enough for big ticket exits, and over four-fifths of investment deals are early-stage.

So who are these early bird investors making big bets on Indian innovation? Who are the optimistic ones you should probably go to first if you’re a startup looking for funding in India?

Silicon Valley-based 500 Startups tops the list. It was the most active institutional investor in the Indian tech startup scene in 2013-14, making over 20 investments during the year, according to research firm CB Insights. Mumbai-based Blume Ventures was second, while Accel Partners rounds out the top three.

Four out of the top 10 ranked investors are based in India — Blume Ventures, Kalaari Capital, IDG Ventures India, and Kae Capital. The others have their headquarters abroad, but most of them have a presence in India to keep track of emerging startups as well as their investments.

Here’s a rundown of the top 10 institutional investors who have been the most active in the Indian tech startup scene recently:

500 Startups

Dave McClure’s popular Silicon Valley based seed fund has been bullish on India, with a country-specific fund called 500 Wallah. It made as many as 20 investments in FY2013-14, into companies like price comparison site PriceBaba and language learning innovator CultureAlley. And it currently has three startups from India in the ninth batch of its accelerator program.

Blume Ventures

This Mumbai-based homegrown venture capital firm likes to take a collaborative approach to investing, roping in other investors and angels into the ventures it backs. Blumers they call themselves, but they have a number of successes under their belt. Cool startups like cab aggregator TaxiForSure and robot-maker Grey Orange are in the Blume basket.

Accel Partners

Investments in ecommerce biggie Flipkart and Myntra’s series E, as well as BabyOye’s US$12 million series B and real estate portal CommonFloor’s series C and D rounds, among others, made Accel Partners one of the movers and shakers in India in the last four quarters. Freshdesk and BookMyShow are among the many Indian stars this California-headquartered firm has backed.

Kalaari Capital

Technopreneur-turned-investor Vani Kola, who returned to India after a billion-dollar exit from Silicon Valley, is the managing director of this Bangalore-based venture capital firm which took a punt on Snapdeal and Myntra long before the ecommerce boom. Kalaari, which derives its name from a martial arts tradition in South India, continues to pick winners like Urban Ladder and Zivame.

Tiger Global Management

This ‘Tiger Cub’ from New York has funded some of the tech pioneers in India like Flipkart, MakeMyTrip and JustDial. In fact, it was one of the early players in the Indian tech startup scene, before unexpectedly shutting shop in 2009, ostensibly because it did not find the scale it was looking for. But it has been back with a bang since 2011.

Nexus Venture Partners

IDG Ventures India

Helion Venture Partners

Kae Capital

Intel Capital