Investors Backing Pre-Seed Startups
70 investors on our list back Pre-Seed startups, 16% of the 447 we list. Pre-seed is the first outside money, usually raised on a prototype, a first few users and a credible team. They are 70 VC firms, 34 micro VCs and 12 angel networks; 60 are based in India.
70 investors, page 1 of 2
Forum Ventures
New York, United States
Pre-seed venture firm for B2B software founders: a 16-week accelerator that invests for equity, a pre-seed fund, an A...
Quake Capital Partners
United States
U.S.-based venture fund that invests in pre-seed and seed startups for equity. It requires U.S. C-Corps or similar en...
Antler India
Bengaluru, Karnataka, India
Day-zero venture investor in Bengaluru, the India arm of the global firm Antler — it runs an AI residency for foundin...
Gemba Capital
Bengaluru, Karnataka, India
A Bengaluru pre-seed and seed venture fund backing founders in Fintech, Consumer Tech and B2B Platforms.
Campus Fund
Bengaluru, Karnataka, India
A Bengaluru venture fund that backs only student founders - current students, and graduates or dropouts of the last t...
8X Ventures
Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
A SEBI-registered Category II deeptech venture fund with offices in Chennai, Noida and Dubai, backing founders from P...
NEDFi
Guwahati, Assam, India
Development finance company in Guwahati offering business loans to enterprises in India's eight north-eastern states,...
Titan Capital
Gurugram, Haryana, India
Early-stage venture capital firm in Gurugram, backing pre-seed and seed founders since 2011, with an always-open pitc...
Amplify.LA
United States
A pre-seed and first-check venture fund investing in technology startups in Los Angeles.
DART Ventures
Switzerland
Equity investor in early-stage Swiss and European deep-tech health and climate startups, with a US expansion programm...
SuperCharger Ventures
United Kingdom
Accelerators and an investment arm for EdTech and Future of Work startups, run from Malta with a Saudi joint venture.
Visible Hands
United States
Pre-seed venture firm that backs underrepresented founders in tech and tech-enabled startups, mostly through fellowsh...
BlueSky
Gurugram, Haryana, India
Gurugram-based firm that invests in technology-led ideas at pre-seed and seed and offers incubation, product engineer...
Trailblaze Ventures
Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India
A Noida firm that invests in pre-seed and early-stage MSMEs and offers mentorship, with no application form on its site.
Pentathlon Ventures
Pune, Maharashtra, India
A Pune seed-stage venture fund backing AI-enabled B2B tech startups from India, taking pitches through a contact form.
Hyderabad Angels
Hyderabad, Telangana, India
Hyderabad angel network, founded in 2010, that backs seed and pre-seed startups across India and takes applications t...
LVX Ventures
Bengaluru, Karnataka, India
Investor platform where founders raise Pre-Seed to Series A or later rounds, get a paid investment-style assessment,...
Kalaari Capital
Bengaluru, Karnataka, India
Bengaluru technology venture fund backing consumer tech, deep tech and Enterprise AI from Pre-Seed to Series A, with...
Speciale Invest
Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
A deeptech venture fund with offices in Chennai and Bengaluru that backs science and engineering founders at pre-seed...
ah! Ventures
Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
Mumbai startup investment platform with First Gear, Angel and High Tables fundraising formats and weekly virtual pitc...
First Cheque
Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
A Mumbai pre-seed and seed investor writing first cheques into teams at the paper-plan, pre-product and MVP stage acr...
Kae Capital
Bengaluru, Karnataka, India
An early-stage venture fund, with offices in Bengaluru and Mumbai, that backs founders from pre-seed to pre-Series A...
1Crowd
Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
Mumbai early-stage venture fund (SEBI Category I angel funds) backing pre-seed to Series A+ startups across sectors;...
Upsparks Capital
Bengaluru, Karnataka, India
A Bangalore micro VC run by former founders that backs pre-seed and seed technology startups with a strong India link...
Sprout Venture Partners
Bengaluru, Karnataka, India
A Bangalore early-stage venture fund backing consumption-led and technology-led founders, usually with their first in...
Seafund
Bengaluru, Karnataka, India
An early-stage Bengaluru and Delhi venture fund backing India-based deeptech startups from pre-seed to pre-series A....
BYT Capital
Bengaluru, Karnataka, India
A Bengaluru deep-tech venture fund backing science-led founders from pre-seed to Series A, in areas like semiconducto...
Dexter Ventures
Bengaluru, Karnataka, India
A Bengaluru micro VC fund backing pre-seed and seed-stage Indian startups, grown out of the Dexter Angels syndicate,...
Finvolve Ventures
Gurugram, Haryana, India
Gurugram-based venture fund platform, a joint venture of India Accelerator and Finolutions, running SEBI-registered a...
Soonicorn Ventures
Gurugram, Haryana, India
Gurugram angel network investing in early-stage Indian startups through a SEBI-registered Category I Angel Fund, with...
Theia Ventures
Bengaluru, Karnataka, India
A Bengaluru venture fund, registered with SEBI as a Category II AIF, that invests in disruptive tech companies transf...
All In Capital
Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
A Mumbai pre-seed and seed venture fund for Indian founders, with an application form, a founder-angel network and po...
4U Venture Partners
Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
A Mumbai pre-seed and seed venture fund, run by Four U Venture Partners LLP, backing India-first founders in AI, SaaS...
CDM Capital
Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
A Mumbai operator-led seed to Series A fund backing India-based founders in fintech, AI-native enterprise and the rea...
TDV Partners
Bengaluru, Karnataka, India
A Bengaluru pre-seed and seed venture firm backing consumer founders, often as the first institutional investor, with...
2am VC
Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
An India-only venture fund investing at pre-seed and seed, often as a startup's first institutional investor, with of...
GrowthCap Ventures
Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
Mumbai-based, operator-led SEBI-registered Category II AIF backing pre-seed and seed founders in fintech, AI and deep...
Merak Ventures
New Delhi, Delhi, India
A New Delhi early-stage venture fund backing India-centric, B2B and emerging-technology startups at pre-seed and seed...
SamVed Ventures
Bengaluru, Karnataka, India
Early-stage venture capital fund for India and emerging markets, backing tech-enabled startups for the middle and asp...
Ventana Ventures
Udupi, Karnataka, India
A micro VC in Udupi, Karnataka, that invests only in pre-seed and seed-stage gaming and interactive media start-ups a...
Blume Ventures
Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
Mumbai-based early-stage venture firm backing Indian founders from pre-seed to pre-Series A across consumer, SaaS, fi...
Leo Capital
New Delhi, Delhi, India
A cross-continental early-stage fund backing pre-seed and seed founders in AI, fintech, SaaS and healthtech, with an...
Whiteboard Capital
Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
A Mumbai early-stage venture fund backing ideation, pre-seed and seed founders, sector agnostic, with a pitch form on...
InfoEdge Ventures
Gurugram, Haryana, India
Corporate venture arm of Info Edge Ltd. in Gurugram, backing sector-agnostic, tech-enabled Indian start-ups from Pre-...
WEH Ventures
Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
Early-stage venture fund backing pre-seed and seed founders across fintech, consumer, agri-tech, deeptech and more; S...
Shastra VC
Gurgaon, Haryana, India
Early-stage venture capital firm backing founders in frontier tech, climate tech and AI-driven software, with a resea...
IIT Delhi Angels
New Delhi, Delhi, India
The official angel network of IIT Delhi, backing pre-seed and seed startups from the institute's students, alumni, fa...
ValleyNXT Ventures
Indore, Madhya Pradesh, India
Indore-based venture fund and accelerator, SEBI-registered as a Category I AIF, backing pre-seed to Series A deep-tec...
Pre-Seed investors at a glance
- 70 of the 447 investors we list name Pre-Seed among the stages they back (16%).
- By type: 70 VC firms, 34 micro VCs and 12 angel networks.
- In India, the most are in Karnataka (21), Maharashtra (13) and Haryana (8).
- By city, the most are in Bengaluru (20), Mumbai (12) and Gurugram (7).
- The sectors they name most often are Deep Tech (26), FinTech (24), HealthTech (13) and SaaS (13).
- The other stages these investors name most often are Seed (62), Series A (20) and Pre-Series A (7).
These are counted from the profiles listed above, so they move as investors are added or change their focus.
Questions founders ask
What does the Pre-Seed stage mean to an investor?
Pre-seed is the first outside money, usually raised on a prototype, a first few users and a credible team.
What should I show an investor who backs the Pre-Seed stage?
Show the team, the early users or pilots, and a clear plan for what the money will prove by the next round. Pre-seed investors back the team more than the numbers.
How many investors back the Pre-Seed stage?
We list 70 investors that name Pre-Seed among the stages they back, out of 447 in the directory. The count changes as profiles are added and checked.
Which kinds of investor back the Pre-Seed stage?
Counting the profiles here: 70 VC firms, 34 micro VCs and 12 angel networks. Open a profile to see the other stages and sectors the investor covers.
Can I approach an investor that backs more than one stage?
Yes. Many investors name several stages and decide on fit, not on a fixed label. Read the profile for the sectors and the kind of company the investor has backed, then confirm the current focus on the investor's own site before you write.