List of startups funded by Ritesh Agarwal 

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Dynamic founder and CEO of OYO Rooms, one of the youngest billionaires in India and an up-and-coming name in startup investments, is Ritesh Agarwal. Under his leadership with an eye for innovation and strong belief in India’s potential for entrepreneurship, Agarwal has over the years helped early-stage ventures across a variety of industries including tech, e-commerce, food, fashion, and fintech. Furthermore, a significantly growing investment portfolio for Agarwal signifies a commitment toward nurturing disruptive ideas and giving opportunities to new-age entrepreneurs.

For instance, identified quite prominently over the last couple of years via platforms like Shark Tank India, Ritesh Agarwal became famous for his calculated and well-thought-out investments in startups with good potential. His inputs are not restricted to monetary funding; very often, beyond the funding, Ritesh adds his valuable mentorship and advice with business insights gleaned during his own journey of the establishment of a global hospitality empire. Ritesh Agarwal’s signature is traced on a wide range of ventures: sustainable consumer brands, gaming platforms, or D2C products, thus reflecting trends shaping the Indian startup ecosystem.

In case you are keen to find out which startups were able to woo and grab funding attention from this young visionary, then you are indeed at the right place. The article presents a detailed list of startups funded by Ritesh Agarwal along with vital details for every venture as well as what made them worthy enough to make the cut.

Ritesh Agrawaal: About

India’s great visionary businessman of India was born in 1993 in Odisha, India. Ritesh came from humble beginnings to become the founder and group CEO of OYO Rooms—the fastest-growing hospitality brand in the world.

From his childhood, Ritesh took a fancy to business, having been raised in a small town where his family ran an ordinary local shop. Ritesh completed his early education at St. John’s Senior Secondary School and then went to Delhi for higher studies but soon dropped out in order to pursue his entrepreneurial dreams.

In 2011, Ritesh Agarwal founded Oravel Stays, which would become OYO Rooms by 2013. The goal was simple yet groundbreaking: to make affordable, standard accommodation available to all travelers across India. Ritesh Agarwal became a renowned face in the Thiel Fellowship, being the first-ever Asian residential member in the fellowship.

Besides OYO, Ritesh Agarwal grabbed all attention in the year 2023 during Shark Tank India, being the youngest “Shark” with a great business mind and a very supportive mentoring style. Ritesh earns respect in multiple entrepreneurial quarters in India and abroad, with OYO now on the global landscape and startup investments continuing to increase.

List of Some of the Top Startups Funded by Ritesh Agrawaal

Here in this list, are the startups funded by Ritesh and hold the largest of his investments. 

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BorderPlus

The cross-border workforce mobility platform BorderPlus has gone on to raise a round of INR 60 crore (USD 7 million) in February 2025, said to be the first institutional funding round for the company and was led by Owl Ventures, and participated by Ritesh Agarwal, Binny Bansal, Mithun Sacheti among others. 

Founded by Mayank Kumar (upGrad) and Ayush Mathur (ex-OYO), BorderPlus aims first at Indians being nurses and then expanding into other fields in the future. The company then focuses on career opportunities to Indians with global perspectives. The training, visa process and job placement will also be included in relocation assistance. It costs ₹2 lakh as program fees, through scholarships or grants, fully refundable. Future plans are to extend into hospitality, logistics, teaching, and retail.

Culture Circle

In January 2025, Culture Circle startup drummed up ₹3 crores from Ritesh Agarwal (OYO) and Kunal Bahl (Snapdeal) for a 3% stake while guest appearing in the Shark Tank India platform. Devansh Jain Nawal and Akshay Jain are the co-founders for Culture Circle, and the startup works for the real resale of sneakers, streetwear, and high-end fashion in India-the future expansion plans will also see entry into new product categories and countries like the UAE due to the AI verification and a trusted network of more than 3000 sellers to address the trust issues in illegal luxury resale.

Emversity

This startup has emerged as a pinnacle for the best early-stage funding by Ritesh Agarwal along with many other top-of-the-line investors. It raised $11 million in a seed funding round in October 2023 for this Bengaluru-based edtech platform from Lightspeed Venture Partners and Matrix Partners India with participation from Ritesh Agarwal, Gaurav Munjal (Unacademy) and Mayank Kumar (upGrad). Vivek Sinha (ex-OYO) co-founded it and is forging employability-focused higher education programs with ‘built-in income’ opportunities. The mission of the University is to bridge the skill gap through relevant learning and by connecting to global jobs in opportunities in high-skill-demand professional sectors.

Dil Foods

Dil Foods, a Bengaluru-based virtual restaurant startup, managed to woo Ritesh Agarwal of OYO as the ‘shark’ during its pitch at the Shark Tank India in January 2024. Founder Arpita Aditi pitched for ₹50 lakh for 0.5% equity but ended up successfully garnering ₹2 crore for 2.67% from a group of four sharks Kelvins- Ritesh Agarwal, Peyush Bansal, Vineeta Singh, and Radhika Gupta. Thus, this investment pegged Dil Foods’ valuation at ₹75 crore. Ritesh’s funds indicate his increasing interest in innovative food-tech companies that are disrupting the traditional restaurant model using cloud kitchens and scalable virtual brands. 

FroGo

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On November 2, 2023, FroGo received seed funding amounting to $1.15 million led by Inflection Point Ventures. This round also witnessed the contribution of some notable investors like Ritesh Agarwal (founder, OYO), Ankit Nagori (founder, Curefoods), Desai Ventures, and the FAAD network. Founded by Mira Jhala, FroGo is changing the frozen foods landscape through technology, revolutionizing its distribution and accessibility. The funds are directed towards expansion and innovation by FroGo in the frozen foods domain.

Taffykids

Niti Parekh, Pratik Nagariya, and Sangita Rohira got their children’s fashion brand Taffykids featured in Shark Tank India, Season 4, Episode 45, to seek ₹75 lakh for 1% equity with a ₹75 crore valuation. Sharks were charmed by the founders with their story of remarkable growth, from ₹55 lakh revenues during FY22 to an estimated ₹3.5 crore in FY23 and expected ₹12 crore in FY24. Ritesh Agarwal (OYO) and Vineeta Singh (Sugar Cosmetics) invested ₹75 lakh for 1.5% equity along with royalties of 0.5% until recovery of their investment, valuing Taffykids at ₹50 crore. The deal formed a strategic partnership for the next growth phase for Taffykids.

Tribalveda

Tribalveda, a wellness concept inspired by ancient tribal remedies, was started by Rajesh Ojha and Pooja Ojha. The duo presented its case on Shark Tank India Season 4 Episode 42 for a ₹50-lakh investment in return for 2% equity, placing the valuation of their company at ₹25 crore. The pitch on natural health and Ayurveda fascinated the Sharks with its straightforwardness and readiness for a market. After presentation and deliberation, they were able to close the deal. 

This money will not just serve as growth capital; in effect, this will give the founders unique access to some mentors, assisting them in scaling up Tribalveda. This funding has been transformational in helping them take substantial strides toward their goal of pulling tribal wellness traditions to the general audience.

Trajectory

On Shark Tank India Season 4, Episode 39, Edtech startup Trajectory, co-founded by Raghav Mahajan and Himanshu Verma, pitched for a ₹1 crore investment in exchange for 2% equity, valuing the company at ₹50 crore. The mission is to give personalized mentorship to IIT-JEE aspirants and pitch parameters highlight growth potential and technology involvement in preparation for these competitive exams. 

The Sharks appreciated the vision and scalability. After going into a negotiation, Ritesh Agarwal and Amit Jain joined as investors in a deal. This funding and mentorship will equip Trajectory to bring into fruition its vision of how students prepare for the top engineering entrances in India.

CoGrad

A new student housing and community platform developed by Saurabh Yadav and Himanshu Chaurasia, CoGrad, entered Episode 38 of Shark Tank India Season 4. The founders offered a ₹1 crore investment against 2% equity, putting the valuation of the company at ₹50 crores. The Sharks appreciated their scalable marketable innovation aimed at solving the student accommodation issue in the real world.

Following a ripping discussion, further negotiations led to Ritesh Agarwal becoming a part of the investment. His experience in the respective hospitality and housing segment will become a significant value addition towards CoGrad in its growth and expansion roadmap throughout the country.

Medial

Shark Tank India Season 4, Episode 37, had its audience treated to the pitch of Medial, a healthtech startup that is changing the avenue through which patients connect with doctors, from founders Aishwarya Raj Pandey, Harsh Dwivedi, Niket Raj Dwivedi, and Prateek Kaien. The castle-in-the-air was an ask for which the founders were seeking a sum of ₹50 lakhs for 1% equity, thereby valuing the company at ₹50 crores. 

The sharks were fascinated by this novel method of taking healthcare access to the people through smartphones-The Indian medical trial. It also inspired a few sharks to negotiate with Ritesh Agarwal about the chance to invest in this tech-driven healthcare startup. The deal not only brought cash; it would be a value-added investment participation with strategic mentorship to help scale up the startup across the vast medical landscape of India.

Conclusion

Under Shark Tank India Season 3, Ritesh Agarwal invested in these startups, expressing his diverse interests and lending support to foster innovation through multiple avenues. His strategic investments have been a huge boost to many entrepreneurs in scaling up their businesses, with the Shark Tank India ventures being those in the fashion, tech, and food industries. By financially backing and guiding them through mentorship, Ritesh Agarwal has been a chief architect in creating the future of the Indian startup ecosystem.