A group of prominent investors and entrepreneurs, including Deep Kalra of MakeMyTrip, Vidit Aatrey of Meesho, and Hari Menon of BigBasket, have jointly launched TILT, an impact-focused investment platform with a ₹250 crore corpus to back early-stage startups. According to reports from Business Standard and Economic Times, the fund is backed by The Nudge Foundation and includes notable investors such as Flipkart co-founder Binny Bansal, former TPG NewQuest executive Amit Gupta, Raj & Indra Nooyi Family Office, and US-based Livelihood Impact Fund. TILT's founder and managing partner Atul Satija told Business Standard that the fund has an equal mix of institutions and individual investors who have contributed to the fund. The platform has been created to address a critical gap in India's entrepreneurial ecosystem: the limited availability of patient, impact-first capital for ventures during their formative stages.
The fund will primarily invest from seed to series A stages with cheque sizes ranging from ₹2 crore to ₹16 crore. As reported by Business Standard, TILT is targeting a funding gap faced by early-stage businesses serving low-income communities, which often take longer to build product-market fit, distribution and sustainable economics than conventional venture-backed businesses. The platform aims to provide patient, impact-first capital to such ventures and support them through their early stages. Co-founder and managing partner Richa Singh told Business Standard that they spoke to over 100 startups and found a funding gap between seed and series A stages, where businesses can generate returns but not the kind of returns that fit traditional investors' IRR-focused models. The fund will provide patient capital designed to reflect the longer timelines and operating realities of impact-led businesses while maintaining financial discipline and seeking sustainable value creation.
TILT will focus on science- and technology-led businesses across agricultural value chains, climate resilience, informal work and emerging employment models, MSME productivity, employability, financial inclusion, market access and distribution, technology and AI applied to livelihood challenges. According to Business Standard and Economic Times, the fund plans to make about 20-25 investments while making provisions for follow-on capital. Singh noted that the platform is focused on the 'next billion' consumers—people earning between ₹1.5 lakh and ₹5 lakh a year—as they become increasingly ready for scalable market solutions. The fund will also support areas such as research, market development, partnerships and ecosystem infrastructure, complementing the venture fund's investment work because investment alone may not be sufficient. The fund has 12-year tenure which includes a two-year extension and is already in the process of finalizing its first two investments.
The Nudge Foundation, which Satija founded and led for a decade, works with entrepreneurs building solutions across livelihoods and other complex social challenges. As reported by Business Standard, The Nudge has supported more than 190 social enterprises and deployed about ₹180 crore in grants. Following the transition of many ventures from early validation towards scale, it became evident that many needed more than philanthropic support to realize their full potential. Satija transitioned to a founder and mentor role at the foundation and set up TILT to meet that need and take the foundation's work forward, with The Nudge and TILT being separate entities with distinct teams and governing practices. The ecosystem has produced a strong record of recognition, including 23 Forbes 30 Under 30 founders, three Earthshot Prize winners and 18 Acumen Fellows.
Atul Satija told Business Standard that over the next 15 years, they aim to back 150+ startups and meaningfully improve 100 million lives. The fund has a 12-year tenure which includes a two-year extension and given that it is an impact-first fund, the kind of investors have been very flexible on the IRRs (internal rate of return) they eventually land at. Singh emphasized that markets move where capital points, and they want to reimagine how impact investing can work in India by directing capital towards opportunities that can create lasting value. The fund's focus remains on solutions that impact the livelihoods or transform the lives of the target consumer segment, with businesses serving low-income communities often taking longer than conventional ventures to establish product-market fit, build distribution and develop resilient economics.
