India's angel funds form industry body APAII to boost early-stage capital

More than 30 angel funds, early-stage funds, family offices, micro VCs and individual angel investors have come together to launch the Association of Prolific Angels in India (APAII), a new industry body aimed at deepening India’s domestic early-stage capital pool, a statement said.

The new body is supported by TiE Mumbai and will also seek to act as a collective policy and operational bridge between angel investors, HNIs, early-stage funds, founders and policymakers.

Among the key names represented in APAII’s leadership are Venture Catalysts++ and 100 Unicorns, Inflection Point Ventures and Physis Capital, WeFounder Circle, LetsVenture, Lead Angels and SucSEED Ventures.

Satish Kataria, a venture capitalist with over two decades of experience in early-stage investing, will lead APAII as its first executive director. Apoorva Ranjan Sharma, co-founder of Venture Catalysts++ and 100 Unicorns, is the president of APAII, while Vinay Bansal, co-founder of Inflection Point Ventures and Physis Capital, is among its key office bearers. 

The association plans to expand India’s angel investor base from around 1 lakh currently to 1 million, while mobilising an estimated $3 billion in early-stage capital over the next five years. It has set a longer-term target of scaling annual angel participation to $30 billion by 2047.

India currently has more than 100 angel funds and around 1 lakh angel investors, which deployed close to $1 billion in early-stage investments in FY25, APAII said.

The launch comes as capital deployment through angel funds has grown over the past five years. Data cited by APAII and attributed to SEBI shows investments made through angel funds rising from an estimated Rs 2,400-2,800 crore in FY22 to Rs 5,169 crore in FY26. Funds raised increased from an estimated Rs 2,800-3,200 crore to Rs 6,333 crore over the same period.

APAII said it will focus on investor education, governance and due-diligence resources, while also seeking to expand angel participation beyond metro hubs into tier-2 and tier-3 cities. It plans to provide founders with mentorship, industry connections and go-to-market support as well.

APAII said it will announce its phased roadmap, programme scope and timelines in due course.