Angel Investments vs. Venture Capital: Understanding the Impact

Explore the key differences between angel investments and venture capital through real-world examples from India, including Ola Cabs and Zomato. Learn how each funding type impacts startup growth and success.

Indian funding saw a rocky journey in 2024. While there were glimmers of hope in late-stage deals, early-stage investing had a completely different story to tell. Early-stage funding, which includes seed, angel, and Series A rounds, dropped to $3 billion across 1,533 deals in 2024—a sharp decline from $4 billion across 2,137 deals in 2023.

With investors getting increasingly cautious and competition in the early-stage space heating up, it’s hard not to reflect on what was once a thriving era for startup funding in India.

At WeWork Labs, we thought this would be the perfect time to unpack how venture capital and angel investments are shaping up in India, and to shine a light on some brilliant examples of angel and VC bets the ecosystem has seen.

Angel investments in India

As India heads into its next decade, angel investments are expected to have a greater role when it comes to driving growth and fostering greater founders to start their companies. In the decade past, angel investments have been crucial to shaping the early stage ecosystem we see today. For instance, since 2014, Indian angel networks participated in over 540 funding rounds, backing more than 470 startups.

The number of individual angels participating has also increased significantly. As of 2025, India is projected to have over 2,000 active angel investors.

Also Read: Importance of furnished tech enabled office

Here are two case studies illustrating the strength of an angel check in the early stage.

Ola Cabs

• Investors: Rehan Yar Khan and Anupam Mittal
• Investment Details: Back in 2011, when ride-hailing was still an emerging concept in India, Rehan Yar Khan and Anupam Mittal placed their bets on Ola, investing nearly ₹1 crore (roughly $150,000). At the time, Ola was early in its journey and positioning itself as a tech-driven marketplace for cabs and car rentals—a service that aimed to revolutionize urban mobility in India.
• Outcome: Fast forward to October 2014, and Ola had successfully raised $210 million in a landmark funding round led by SoftBank. This rapid growth and high-profile backing propelled the company's valuation to new heights, turning Mittal's minority stake into a treasure trove worth approximately ₹25 crore (around $3.75 million). This translates to an astounding 40.7x return on the initial investment—showcasing the power of early-stage bets on disruptive ideas in rapidly growing markets.

Angel investments can be understood as personal bets fueled by conviction in a founder's vision, while venture investments are calculated plays backed by institutional rigor, scaling strategies, and structured rounds.

Let’s take a closer look at venture investments in India.

Venture Capital investments

A stark contrast to angel investments, venture capital investments are often more cautious bets taken after assessing the potential of a company and its founders. To understand the methods a venture capitalist uses to assess a company, we highly recommend checking out our piece on valuation methods—it’s a greater primer.

As for what investments by VC’s looked like last year, private equity and venture capital (PE-VC) investments in 2024 totaled around $31.1 billion—a 5.5% drop from 2023's $32.9 billion and the lowest level the market has seen since 2019.

That being said, VC’s still have a crucial role to play in shaping the next decade of the Indian startup ecosystem by driving innovation, enabling scale, and nurturing solutions tailored to India's evolving market and global ambitions.

Also Read: Venture debt in India

Zomato

• Founders: Deepinder Goyal and Pankaj Chaddah
• Year Founded: 2008
• Overview: Starting as a restaurant discovery platform, Zomato quickly transformed into a full-stack food tech giant. From providing restaurant menus, reviews, and ratings to revolutionizing food delivery, Zomato became a household name in India's dining and delivery ecosystem.
• Venture Capital Impact: With backing from marquee investors like Sequoia Capital, Ant Financial, and Info Edge, Zomato charted a path of aggressive growth and market expansion. In 2021, it became one of the first major Indian startups to go public, raising $1.3 billion through its IPO—a landmark moment for India’s tech industry.
• Outcome: Zomato’s successful IPO and ability to diversify into new markets underscore the transformative impact of strategic venture capital funding. Its journey is a testament to how the right support can help startups scale rapidly, meet surging consumer demand, and cement their place as market leaders.

The WeWork Labs take
As compared to angel investments, venture capital can help boost a business to greater scale in a shorter period of time. While angel checks can be that one crucial bit of capital you need to help you get started with an idea. Unlike angels, VCs are deeply involved in the business, taking formal roles in governance, influencing strategic decisions, and pushing for rapid growth. While angel investments help businesses get off the ground, venture capital can drive startups to scale quickly, often providing access to global markets, extensive resources, and the networks needed to become market leaders in their industry. Angel investments are associated with high risk and longer return timelines, while VCs demand faster returns and often push for exits through acquisitions or IPOs within a set timeframe.

What are your thoughts on some of the most crucial investment bets made in either angel or venture capital in India? Let us know! See you in the next WeWork Labs blog.