From Shah Rukh Khan’s family to Sidharth Malhotra: Celebs who have invested in Ritesh Agarwal’s Oyo | Company Business News

Amid a buzzing investing environment in India, travel startups have seen capital flowing into them as the environment remains stable. Not just institutional investors, it now seems celebrities are also interested in becoming financial backers for these companies — a shift from their earlier roles that were restricted t brand ambassadors or endorsers.

High profile Indians, including actors and A-list cricketers, are betting on online travel platforms, marking a shift in how this ecosystem is being funded.

Recently, Ritesh Agarwal‘s Oyo raised over ₹1,400 crore in its Series G funding round, which was not just led by venture capital firms.

SRK’s Oyo connect

According to a report by Skift, film producer and designer Gauri Khan, who is the wife of Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan, was among the investors in Oyo’s latest fundraiser.

Gauri picked around 2.4 million shares in the company, as per the report.

This comes ahead of the much-awaited IPO of the online travel-booking platform, which is in discussion with banks to float its public offering soon.

Preliminary discussions with investment banks have indicated a potential valuation range of $6-7 billion for the public offering, sources quoted by PTI said.

Mint could not independently verify the authenticity of the Skift report. This article will be updated once there is an official statement available.

The individual investment value of the movie producer has not been disclosed by Oyo as of now.

The investment comes months after she backed Innov8, the Oyo-owned co-working brand.

Bollywood’s Oyo frenzy

As per the Skift report, actor Madhuri Dixit, her husband Dr. Sriram Nene, and Dr. Ritesh Malik, founder of Innov8, have together bought 2 million shares in Oyo.

Meanwhile, actor Amrita Rao and her husband, radio jockey Anmol Sood, have also invested in Innov8 via the secondary market.

Bollywood actors Sidharth Malhotra and Kiara Advani have also bought shares in Oyo earlier.

However, the concept of celebrities financially backing travel startups is not entirely new. In 2012, Salman Khan picked up a less-than 5 per cent stake in Yatra when he became the brand ambassador of the company.

In 2013, Sachin Tendulkar picked up 7.5 per cent sweat equity in UAE-based OTA Musafir.com as he appeared for its campaigns.

However, the rareity of the situation is changing now, as more and more celebrities look to invest in the travel industry, signalling possible growth.