How to Get Startup Funding in India (When You Have No Network or Connections)

India's venture capital scene has made a strong comeback in 2024, with total VC funding reaching $13.7 billion, marking a 43% year-on-year increase. This rebound follows a funding winter in 2022–23 and positions India as the #2 VC destination in Asia-Pacific, just behind China.

Types of Startup Funding Rounds in India: A Complete Guide for Founders

Understanding the types of startup funding rounds is essential before mapping VC firms to their preferred stages. Here's a clear and structured breakdown of the common stages of startup funding, from idea to IPO, along with what typically happens at each stage and who usually participates.

Stage	Purpose	Investor Type	Funding Amount (India)	Typical Use
Pre-Seed	Validate idea, build MVP	Angel investors, incubators, friends/family	₹10–50 lakh	Prototyping, early hiring, market research
Seed	Early traction, product-market fit	Seed VCs, micro VCs, syndicates, angels	₹50 lakh – ₹6 crore	Scaling MVP, hiring core team, marketing, metrics
Series A	Scale product and user base	Institutional VCs	₹15–75 crore	Monetization, GTM expansion, strong growth metrics
Series B	Business expansion, market capture	Growth VCs, crossover funds	₹75–300 crore+	Larger team, ops, entry into new markets
Series C+	Aggressive scaling, pre-IPO prep	Late-stage VCs, private equity, corporates	₹300 crore+	M&A, international expansion, path to profitability
Venture Debt	Non-dilutive working capital, usually post Series A	Venture debt firms like Alteria, Trifecta	₹5–50 crore	Bridge rounds, inventory, short-term runway
IPO / Exit	Public listing or acquisition	Retail/institutional investors, M&A buyers	₹1000 crore+	Liquidity event, investor exit, capital market exposure

India’s startup journey is powered by a strong foundation of venture capital. Over the years, a mix of global giants and homegrown VC firms have actively funded thousands of startups—fueling innovation across fintech, SaaS, consumer brands, deep tech, and more. Below is a comprehensive list of active venture capital firms in India that have consistently backed high-potential startups across various stages and sectors.

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Most Active Venture capital firms in India

VC Firm	Investment Stages	Focus Sectors	Notable Startups & Rounds
Peak XV Partners	Seed to Growth	Consumer Tech, SaaS, Fintech, Healthtech, Edtech	Zepto (Series B–E, 2021–2024), Groww (Seed–Series D, 2016–2021), CRED (Series A, 2019)
Accel	Seed to Series B	SaaS, Marketplaces, Fintech	Flipkart (Seed, 2008), Swiggy (Series A, 2015), Freshworks (Seed, 2011)
Matrix Partners India	Seed to Series B	Consumer Tech, Fintech, SaaS	Ola (Series A, 2011), Practo (Series A, 2012), Dailyhunt (Series A, 2014)
Kalaari Capital	Seed to Series B	Consumer Tech, Enterprise Tech, Healthtech	Dream11 (Series A, 2015), Cure.fit (Series A, 2016), Snapdeal (Series A, 2010)
Blume Ventures	Seed to Series A	Consumer Internet, SaaS, Deep Tech	Unacademy (Seed, 2016), Dunzo (Seed, 2015), Grey Orange (Seed, 2014)
Nexus Venture Partners	Seed to Series B	SaaS, Enterprise Tech, Fintech	Druva (Series A, 2010), Postman (Series A, 2016), Unacademy (Series A, 2017)
Elevation Capital	Seed to Series B	Consumer Tech, Fintech, Edtech	Meesho (Series A, 2017), ShareChat (Series A, 2016), NoBroker (Series A, 2015)
Lightspeed India	Seed to Series C	Consumer Tech, SaaS, Fintech	Udaan (Series A, 2016), ShareChat (Series B, 2017), Innovaccer (Series A, 2015)
Chiratae Ventures	Seed to Series B	Consumer Tech, Healthtech, Fintech	Myntra (Series A, 2008), Lenskart (Series A, 2011), CureFit (Series A, 2016)
SAIF Partners (Elevation Capital)	Seed to Series B	Consumer Tech, Edtech, Fintech	Paytm (Series A, 2007), Swiggy (Series A, 2015), UrbanClap (Series A, 2015)
Tiger Global	Series B onwards	Consumer Tech, SaaS, Fintech	Flipkart (Series D, 2014), Ola (Series C, 2014), Zomato (Series D, 2015)
SoftBank Vision Fund	Series C onwards	Consumer Tech, Fintech, Logistics	OYO (Series D, 2017), Paytm (Series D, 2015), Delhivery (Series E, 2019)
Warburg Pincus	Growth to Late Stage	SaaS, Fintech, Healthcare	Whatfix (Series D, 2024), Rivigo (Series D, 2019), Ecom Express (Series D, 2015)
Bessemer Venture Partners	Seed to Series B	SaaS, Consumer Tech, Healthtech	Bigbasket (Series A, 2011), UrbanClap (Series A, 2015), Pepperfry (Series A, 2012)
500 Startups	Seed to Series A	SaaS, Fintech, Consumer Tech	Canva (Seed, 2013), Credit Karma (Seed, 2009), Udemy (Seed, 2010)
Antler India	Pre-Seed to Seed	E-commerce, Edtech, Fintech	Flint (Seed, 2022), Codedamn (Seed, 2022), Payd (Seed, 2022)
Endiya Partners	Seed to Series A	Digital Transformation, Healthcare	Darwinbox (Series A, 2016), Ekincare (Series A, 2015), Zluri (Seed, 2020)
Kae Capital	Seed to Series A	Sector Agnostic	1MG (Seed, 2013), Porter (Seed, 2014), Healthkart (Seed, 2011)
Ventureast	Seed to Series B	Technology, Healthcare, Cleantech	Acko (Series A, 2017), Portea (Series A, 2013), Ekincare (Series A, 2015)
Qualcomm Ventures	Series A to Series C	Consumer Tech, IoT, AI	Ola (Series B, 2015), Ninjacart (Series B, 2018), Zoom (Series A, 2013)
3one4 Capital	Seed to Series A	Fintech, Consumer Internet, SaaS, Healthtech	Licious (Series A–C), Koo (Seed), Darwinbox (Follow-on)
India Quotient	Seed, Pre-Series A	Consumer Tech, Fintech, Social Commerce	ShareChat (Seed), Lendingkart (Seed), Sugar Cosmetics (Seed)
Fireside Ventures	Seed to Series B	D2C, FMCG, Consumer Brands	Mamaearth (Seed, 2016), Slurrp Farm, Vahdam Teas
Titan Capital	Pre-Seed, Seed	Tech-enabled consumer and B2B	Ola (early), Razorpay (Seed), UrbanClap (early)
Alteria Capital	Venture Debt (Growth)	Sector-agnostic	Dunzo, Rebel Foods, BharatPe
Trifecta Capital	Venture Debt + Equity	SaaS, Consumer, Fintech	Bigbasket (Debt), Pharmeasy (Debt), Vedantu
Inflection Point Ventures	Seed to Series A	Sector-agnostic (consumer, SaaS, fintech)	OYO (Follow-on), Toch.ai, Qube Health
Better Capital	Pre-Seed to Seed	SaaS, Fintech, Edtech	Slice, Khatabook, Teachmint
AngelList India Syndicates	Seed	Tech, SaaS, Web3	Various stealth and emerging startups
Capria Ventures	Seed to Growth	Impact, Fintech, Health	Ergos, Varthana, AgroStar
Inflexor Ventures	Pre-Series A to Series A	Deep Tech, AI/ML, Enterprise SaaS	Steradian Semiconductors, Entropik
Venture Highway	Seed to Series A	Consumer Tech, SaaS, Fintech	Meesho (Seed), Moglix (Seed), ShareChat (Seed)
Zodius Capital	Series B to Growth	Digital Media, Commerce, Analytics	Pepperfry (Series B), Zivame (Series B), OfBusiness (Series C)
Ascent Capital	Series A to Growth	Consumer Brands, Healthcare, Infrastructure	BigBasket (Series B), MyGlamm (Series A), Cure.fit (Series B)
YourNest Venture Capital	Seed to Series A	Deep Tech, Enterprise Tech	Uniphore (Seed), MyGate (Seed), Lavelle Networks (Seed)
Speciale Invest	Seed to Series A	Deep Tech, Enterprise Tech	Agnikul (Seed), Astrome (Seed), GalaxEye (Seed)
Iron Pillar	Series B to Growth	Enterprise SaaS, Consumer Tech	Servify (Series B), Uniphore (Series C), FreshToHome (Series C)
Incubate Fund India	Seed to Series A	Consumer Tech, SaaS, Fintech	ShopKirana (Seed), NirogStreet (Seed), HealthPlix (Series A)
100X.VC	Pre-Seed, Seed	Sector-agnostic	Broomees (Seed), Paperplane (Seed), WayFr (Seed)

So You’ve Got the List… Now What?

Okay, you’ve seen the names. You know the VCs. You’ve studied the sectors they invest in. But here’s the real question:

Do you really know how to approach them — and more importantly, how funding actually works?

Trust me — getting funded is not as simple as cold-emailing a partner or clicking “Apply

Now” on a VC’s website. Especially if you’re:

• A first-time founder,

• Not part of a top-tier network (like IIT/IIM/Y Combinator), or

• Don’t already have a warm intro.

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How Funding Really Works in India

Most startup founders think it's a straight line: Idea → Pitch → VC → Funding.

But in reality, the most common routes are:

Approach	Conversion Rate (Est.)	Notes
Warm referral (from founder, CXO, angel)	✅ High (~20–30%)	This is the most reliable route. Trust is already established.
Investment Banker or Advisor	✅ Medium-High (~15–25%)	Common in late-stage rounds. Gatekeepers with network and prep muscle.
Direct via LinkedIn DM	⚠️ Low (~1–3%)	Flooded inboxes. Works better with context or common connection.
Apply via Website/Typeform	⚠️ Very Low (<1%)	For early-stage, these forms are rarely prioritized.
Cold Email (no intro)	❌ Very Low (<0.5%)	Almost never converts unless the deck is exceptional and well-timed.

Most of these routes won’t work. Not because your startup isn’t good — but because you’re just another unknown name in their inbox.

So let’s cut the fluff and talk about what actually gives you a better shot at getting a VC’s attention, and why most people overlook these things:

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Let’s Talk About What Actually Improves Your

Chances (That Most Founders Ignore)

So you’ve got the VC list. You know who’s funding what. Maybe you even sent a cold email or filled out a Type form. But here’s the part no one likes to talk about:

Most of those routes won’t work. Not because your startup isn’t good — but because you’re just another unknown name in their inbox.

So let’s cut the fluff and talk about what actually gives you a better shot at getting a VC’s attention, and why most people overlook these things:

1. Warm Introductions Still Rule Everything

Look, it sucks to admit — but VC is a relationship game. You can have a solid deck, a working MVP, and traction — but if it’s coming from a cold email, it often gets buried.

What works better?

• A referral from a founder they’ve already backed.

• An intro through a mutual angel, operator, or ex-portfolio employee.

• A quick text from someone they trust saying: “Hey, you should take this call.”

This isn’t gatekeeping — it’s pattern recognition. VCs trust filters they already know.

2. Do Your Homework — Like, Actually

Most founders spam the same pitch to 30+ investors. Big mistake. VCs can tell if you're spraying and praying.

Instead:

• Understand what stage they invest in (don’t pitch pre-revenue to a Series B fund).

• Mention a specific investment they’ve made and how you’re positioned differently.

• Keep it tight: your deck and pitch email should feel like a tweetstorm, not a TED Talk.

3. LinkedIn Isn’t Useless — If You’re Smart About It

Most people cold-DM with “Hi, sir, I’m building a startup. Can you fund me? ”That’s dead on arrival.

Instead, try:

• Commenting on their posts thoughtfully.

• Sharing relevant insight (briefly!) before sending a connection.

• Or even better — asking for 10 mins to get feedback, not a cheque.

You’re not asking for money. You’re building recall.

4. There’s More Than Just “VC”

Early-stage founders often overlook:

• Operator angels (folks who’ve built before and have networks)

• Accelerators (Antler, GSF, Y Combinator, Rebalance)

• Small family offices and angel syndicates (AngelList India, LetsVenture)

These might not write ₹10Cr cheques, but they’ll help you get to the right introductions.

5. Getting Recognized via Hackathons, Grants, Competitions

Does it help? Yes — and massively.

This is a credible signal to VCs that:

• You can build.

• You’re proactive.

• Others have already vetted your idea or execution.

It’s a low-cost, high-impact credibility route, especially when you don’t come from a known network.

Bonus: Grants and competition wins sometimes even come with non-dilutive funding, which keeps your cap table clean.

6. Onboarding a Top-Tier Advisor (e.g., IIT/IIM prof, senior operator)

Is it effective? 100%.

• It adds trust in your decision-making and vision.

• Shows you’re capable of attracting high-caliber people.

• Some VCs care more about who’s guiding you than who you are when you're early.

But — it only works if:

• The advisor is genuinely engaged (not just a resume stamp).

• You actually listen to their advice and involve them.

It’s not about name-dropping. It’s about borrowing earned trust and applying real direction.

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