Glossary
Angel Investor
A high-net-worth individual who invests their own money in early-stage startups, typically at pre-seed or seed stage.
By Amit Tyagi, Fitoor Capital · AletheiaAI Glossary
Definition
An angel investor is an individual — usually a successful entrepreneur, executive, or professional — who invests their personal capital in early-stage startups. Unlike venture capital firms, angels invest their own money rather than a fund's capital, and they make investment decisions independently without an investment committee.
Angels typically invest at pre-seed and seed stage when companies are too early for institutional VCs. Typical angel check sizes globally range from $25,000 to $500,000 — in India, the range is ₹10 lakh to ₹2 crore per deal, with some leading angels writing ₹5 crore+ cheques.
Beyond capital, the best angels bring networks, introductions, operating experience, and credibility. A signal from a respected angel can unlock institutional rounds that would otherwise take months longer.
India Context
India's angel ecosystem has matured significantly since 2015. Key networks include Indian Angel Network (IAN), Mumbai Angels, Lead Angels, LetsVenture, and AngelList India. These platforms allow angels to co-invest in deals with standardised terms, reducing the friction of individual due diligence.
Indian angels are increasingly sector-specific: ex-Flipkart/Ola/Paytm founders backing consumer internet; ex-Infosys/TCS executives backing B2B SaaS; HDFC/ICICI alumni backing fintech. The best Indian angels come with deep operating experience in the sector they back.
Example
Vikram, an ex-Razorpay executive, invests ₹50 lakh in a B2B payments startup on a SAFE note at ₹5 crore cap. Beyond capital, he introduces the founders to 3 potential enterprise clients and connects them to Elevation Capital for their seed round six months later. His brand name on the cap table signals credibility to subsequent investors.
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