Even as 2016 started on a slow note as far as startup investments were concerned, the somber mood did not deter angel investors from backing the new wave of startups.
Ratan Tata and Kunal Shah emerged as the most active angel investors in 2016 with both of them having invested in at least 17 startups each during the year, as per the data based on announced deals compiled by DEALSTREETASIA.
T V Mohandas Pai has come in as the second most prolific angel investor with investments in about a dozen startups. While Sandeep Tandon has occupied the third slot with about 11 investments, Anupam Mittal had invested in at least 10 start-ups as on December 20, 2016.
In fact, many investors who participated actively in big-ticket funding rounds last year were over-cautious with investments this year, which thereby led many startups to shut shop.
According to data analytics Tracxn, about 212 start-ups closed down this year, almost a 50 per cent jump over last year when about 140 startups put the shutters down permanently. Some of the prominent start-ups to close down this year amid a slow funding environment include PepperTap, AskMe.com, Parcelled, DoorMint, Amber Wellness, and Tooler.
However, some continued to get support from the biggies in the industry and have grown further.
Ratan Tata, the chairman emeritus of Tata Group, this year too held hands of many budding entrepreneurs. During the year, he invested in a couple of ventures that were floated only in 2015 including Niki, an artificial intelligence-based chatbot, Bengaluru-based home rental startup NestAway, and Singapore-based B2B e-commerce platform Moglix.
The 79-year old veteran has also put money in the US-based virtual fitness platform GOQii, Mumbai-based e-ticketing startup Kyazoonga, wearable gaming platform MadRatGames, and online seller of eyewear accessories…