Ratan Tata turns 84: A list of 10 start-ups funded by the industrialist

Ratan N Tata turned 84 today, December 28. Apart from being a powerful industrialist and a much more generous philanthropist, the chairman emeritus of Tata Group is also a prolific investor and has made numerous investments in several startups.

From Ola Electric to Paytm to Zivame, and many more, Tata has invested in over 30 start-ups till date, most from his personal capacity and some via his investment company – RNT Capital Advisors, according to Tracxn, a market intelligence provider for private company data.

RNT Capital is a global investment platform backed by Ratan Tata. The fund invests in disruptive, technology-oriented businesses across the world and takes a long-term, founder-centric approach to investing, often relying on its propriety sourcing advantage.

Here is a list of 10 such start-ups in which Ratan Tata has invested in:

1. Ola Electric

Ratan Tata funded Ola Electric Mobility Pvt Ltd (Ola Electric) in 2019 as part of its Series A round of funding for an undisclosed amount. Tata is also an early investor in ANI Technologies Pvt Ltd, Ola’s parent company. 

"His investment in Ola Electric will bring his deep experience and mentorship to the company’s ambitions to make electric mobility viable at scale," the start-up had said in a statement.

2. Paytm

Ratan Tata made an investment in Paytm by raising funding in March 2015 for One97 Communications – the parent company of digital payments platform. This funding fetched him the position of a business advisor on One97 Communications' board.

In November 8 this year, Paytm's parent company made debut on Indian bourses via an initial public offering (IPO) though which it raised Rs 18,300 crore.

3. Snapdeal

Snapdeal is the first e-commerce firm that Ratan Tata invested in. He is believed to have picked up a 0.17 per cent stake in Snapdeal in August 2014, when he invested less than Rs 5 crore, as per earlier reports.

Ratan Tata made an investment in Snapdeal soon after Flipkart's acquisition of Myntra. He bought 256 shares from the e-commerce venture’s angel investors.

4. CarDekho

One of the largest auto search platforms in the country, CarDekho, helps users purchase cars online. Ratan Tata invested an undisclosed amount in GirnarSoft – the parent company of CarDekho, BikeDekho, and PriceDekho portals.

5. Cure.fit

Cure.fit is a health and fitness start-up that has raised $170 million from investors like Accel Partners, Kalaari Capital, Chiratae Ventures, and Ratan Tata.

Cure.fit maintains a chain of fitness centers (under the 'Cult.fit' brand), a food delivery platform called 'Eat.fit', a chain of healthcare clinics called 'Care.fit', and the recently launched online mental-wellness platform called ‘Mind.fit’.

6. UrbanLadder

Urban Ladder is a Bengaluru-based online furniture retailer. The online furniture retailer secured funding from Ratan Tata in November 2015.

After Snapdeal, it was Tata’s second personal investment in an e-commerce firm.

However, in November 2020, Reliance Industries’ (RIL’s) retail arm acquired 96 per cent stake in Urban Ladder for over Rs 182 crore.

7. Zivame

Online lingerie platform founded in 2011 by Richa Kar and Kapil Karekar, Zivame also saw funding from the industrialist.

Zivame raised a funding from Ratan Tata in September 2015. However, other details about the investment weren’t disclosed. Later, it reportedly said that it planned on using the money to develop technology and strengthen its customer base.

8. Urban Company

Services marketplace Urban Company  (formerly known as UrbanClap) raised an undisclosed amount in funding from Ratan Tata in December 2015. Urban Company is a Gurgaon-based services marketplace 

9. Abra

Ratan Tata has also made an investment in a Silicon Valley-based bitcoin start-up Abra with American Express. The start-up allows users to store digital cash and send money to any smartphone using Abra's app. Abra earns money when users buy or sell digital currency through its app.

10. Lenskart

Lenskart, the popular online retailer that sells eyewear such as sunglasses, eye glasses, contact lenses and more, secured funding from Tata in April 2016. However, an official from the company reportedly said that Tata’s role was more of a mentor/advisor rather than a financial investor.