Top 10 Bollywood Celebrities Who Turned Into Investors
Discover the top Bollywood celebrities investing in startups and brands, from Shah Rukh Khan to Alia Bhatt, and explore how India’s biggest stars are shaping business, innovation, and entrepreneurship.
Bollywood stars aren’t just in it for the glamour anymore. In recent years, many have stepped off the screen and into boardrooms, putting their money behind startups and brands.
In fact, analysts note that “actors, athletes, and creators are no longer limiting themselves to endorsements; many are now stepping in as founders, angel investors, and strategic backers.
This surge of celebrity investing spans generations: “what started with early participants like Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan has now broadened to include major actors” such as Deepika Padukone and Alia Bhatt.
Here are the top 10 Bollywood superstars who have become notable investors, and the ventures they’ve backed.
| Celebrity | Brands / Ventures Backed | Investment Focus | Key Highlight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shah Rukh Khan | Red Chillies VFX, Kolkata Knight Riders, KidZania India, Meerkat, Numi | Entertainment, Tech, Lifestyle | Built one of Bollywood’s strongest diversified portfolios |
| Priyanka Chopra Jonas | Bumble, Holberton School, Genies | Tech, Education | Strong focus on women-led ventures |
| Deepika Padukone | Furlenco, Purplle, Bellatrix Aerospace, BluSmart | D2C, Aerospace, EV | One of Bollywood’s most strategic startup investors |
| Amitabh Bachchan | Ziddu, Justdial, Eduisfun | Tech, EdTech | Turned early startup bets into huge returns |
| Salman Khan | Yatra.com, Telangana Film City | Travel, Infrastructure | Focused on large-scale investments |
| Anushka Sharma | Slurrp Farm, Blue Tribe | Health Food, Sustainability | Supports wellness-focused brands |
| Hrithik Roshan | HRX, Cure.fit | Fitness, HealthTech | Built a fitness-focused business empire |
| Kareena Kapoor Khan | Quench Botanics, Pluckk | Beauty, FoodTech | Focused on premium consumer brands |
| Alia Bhatt | Nykaa, Phool.co, Ed-a-Mamma | Fashion, Sustainability | Fast-growing D2C investment portfolio |
| Ajay Devgn | Charanka Solar, Panorama Studios | Energy, Media | Diversified into traditional sectors |
1. Shah Rukh Khan
Shah Rukh Khan isn’t just Bollywood royalty; he’s also a savvy investor with a diverse portfolio. Under his production banner (Red Chillies), SRK launched Red Chillies VFX (a visual-effects and animation studio) to power blockbusters like Ra.One and Krrish.
He also co-owns the IPL team Kolkata Knight Riders, making it a “winning investment” on and off the cricket field. Beyond entertainment, SRK backed the children’s theme park chain KidZania (investing in its India parks around 2014).
He even ventured into tech startups: for example, he invested in the live-streaming app Meerkat (as part of its 2015 funding) and in the nutrition platform Numi. In short, Khan’s investment style mirrors his brand, high-profile and varied.
Anik Banerjee
2. Priyanka Chopra Jonas
Priyanka Chopra Jonas made a global name for herself in Hollywood, and she’s applied that ambition to business too. She’s become known as a tech and D2C investor. In 2018, she joined the funding rounds of dating app Bumble (as it launched in India) and also backed US-based coding school Holberton School, showing her interest in female-focused tech education.
As one report notes, Chopra said she was honored to join companies “striving to expand gender diversity in the tech space,” highlighting these investments. Priyanka has also put money into ventures like Genies (a digital avatar platform) and lifestyle brands abroad.
3. Deepika Padukone
Deepika Padukone has methodically built a startup portfolio through her investment firm (KA Enterprises LLP, set up in 2017). She has backed startups in D2C, tech, and even aerospace.
Early on, she invested in Furlenco (furniture-on-rent platform) and Purplle (beauty e-commerce), then moved into cutting-edge sectors. In 2019, she led a round for Bellatrix Aerospace (an Indian space-rocket startup) and joined the marketers of the yogurt brand Epigamia as an investor and partner.
That same year, she was part of the funding for BluSmart, an electric taxi startup in Delhi-NCR. More recently, Deepika invested in FrontRow, an edtech platform offering celebrity-led classes.
Abinaya Arangarajan
4. Amitabh Bachchan
Legendary actor Amitabh Bachchan is a pioneering Bollywood investor. He’s taken calculated bets in technology and startups for years. One famous example: in 2015, he put ₹1.6 lakh into Ziddu, a Singapore-based cloud storage platform.
When Ziddu was acquired in 2017, his small stake skyrocketed, turning ₹1.6 lakh into about ₹112 lakh in just two years. He also backed homegrown startups: in 2013, he spent ₹6.27 lakh to buy 1 lakh shares in search portal Justdial, which surged to ₹6.6 crore within months.
Beyond these, Bachchan invested in an ed-tech company, Eduisfun (2019), and even a merchandise venture, Macmerise (2022).
5. Salman Khan
Salman Khan has recently started making big investment moves beyond movies. In 2018, he took a stake (around 5%) in Yatra.com, an online travel agency. That was his first public tech startup investment.
More ambitiously, in late 2025, Salman revealed plans to pour ₹10,000 crore into a new township and film/TV studio in Telangana. This mega-deal (a mix of real estate and entertainment infrastructure) signals a shift to big-ticket investment.
PV Vyshnavi
6. Anushka Sharma
Anushka Sharma, already a producer and wellness entrepreneur, has invested in health-conscious consumer brands. In 2022, she joined Wholsum Foods (as investor and brand ambassador) to back Slurrp Farm, a D2C brand making millet-based kids’ foods.
That same year, she also backed Blue Tribe, a Delhi-based plant-based meat startup. In fact, a startup report notes she “supported the D2C brands Slurrp Farm and Blue Tribe in 2022.
Beyond food, Anushka and husband Virat Kohli jointly invested in Digit Insurance (insurtech) in 2019, though Kohli put in more capital.
7. Hrithik Roshan
Hrithik Roshan has parlayed his fitness passion into startup ventures. He co-founded the athleisure brand HRX in 2013, which he continues to run (offering apparel, footwear, and more).
More recently, Roshan jumped into health-tech: in early 2025, he joined Cure.fit as both a brand ambassador and an investor in its flagship food-tech arm Eat.fit. (He initially became Cure.fit’s ambassador in 2017, then took equity in Eat.fit in February 2025.)
PV Vyshnavi
8. Kareena Kapoor Khan
Kareena Kapoor Khan has quietly moved into the consumer goods space. In late 2023, she partnered with Vellvette Lifestyle (owner of Sugar Cosmetics) to launch Quench Botanics, a D2C skincare venture selling premium Korean beauty products in India.
The Economic Times notes this joint venture reflects the “increasing trend of celebrities investing in startups and D2C companies”. Kareena’s also backed food-tech: she invested an undisclosed amount in Pluckk, a Mumbai-based fresh-produce delivery startup.
9. Alia Bhatt
One of the newer generation’s biggest stars, Alia Bhatt, has rapidly built a serious business portfolio. She became a part-owner of style-tech startup StyleCracker back in 2017, and in 2020 bought ~₹5 crore of shares in Nykaa (now India’s leading beauty e-commerce).
She also backed Phool.co (an eco-friendly D2C brand turning floral waste into incense and wellness products). In 2022, Alia launched her own brand, Ed-a-Mamma, a sustainable kids’ clothing line, which Reliance Retail later took majority control of.
PV Vyshnavi
10. Ajay Devgn
Ajay Devgn has steadily diversified into investments beyond his blockbuster films. He invested in renewable energy by backing a solar power park at Charanka (Gujarat) around 2013.
In the media, he took a ₹2.74 crore stake in Panorama Studios International (a mid-sized film production company) to produce films like Omkara and Drishyam. Devgn also quietly branched into real estate through his company AD1 (established in 2010) for commercial and construction projects.
Conclusion
Each of these Bollywood giants brings more than just capital to the table. They often become brand ambassadors, strategic advisors, or co-creators in the startups they fund. As Inc42 observes, celebrity investing has gone from fringe to mainstream, “a defining feature of India’s vibrant startup economy”.
From Amitabh Bachchan’s early tech bets to the newer wave of Deepika, Alia, and Kareena, the pattern is clear: India’s movie stars are now heavyweight players in the investment game, fueling innovation across consumer, tech, and lifestyle sectors.
FAQs
Which Bollywood celebrities are active startup investors?
Several Bollywood celebrities are active investors, including Shah Rukh Khan, Deepika Padukone, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Amitabh Bachchan, Alia Bhatt, Hrithik Roshan, Salman Khan, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Anushka Sharma, and Ajay Devgn.
Why are Bollywood celebrities investing in startups?
Bollywood celebrities invest in startups to diversify their income, build long-term wealth, support innovation, and leverage their personal brand to help businesses grow through visibility and strategic partnerships.
Which Bollywood celebrity has the most diverse investment portfolio?
Shah Rukh Khan and Deepika Padukone are often considered among the most diversified celebrity investors due to their investments across entertainment, technology, consumer brands, mobility, and emerging sectors like aerospace.
How do celebrity investments help startups?
Celebrity investments provide startups with capital, brand recognition, credibility, media attention, and access to larger consumer audiences. Many celebrities also act as brand ambassadors and strategic advisors for the companies they back.
