Entrepreneur First announces pre-seed investment in 8 Indian tech start-ups

NEW DELHI: Entrepreneur First (EF), a UK-based global talent investor has announced a total pre-seed investment of $440,000 in eight cutting-edge tech startups from its fourth cohort in India.

As part of the company’s Demo Day, EF introduced these start-ups that are leveraging new-age technologies such as Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Robotics and Virtual Reality to top early-stage investors in the country for their next round of funding. Startups like Expertia, Neuropixel, Fello, Subconscious Compute, Immunito AI, UngearVR, Aspiro and Rightbo are part of the fourth cohort. EF has invested and facilitated a total of $5 million in Indian start-ups over the last two years.

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“The founders at EF India are pushing the boundaries of how technology can be leveraged to solve real world problems. And the fourth cohort is no different - from smart recruitment for SMEs to AI-driven automated apparel cataloguing to revolutionizing antibody discovery and immersive experiences, these startups show are well poised to disrupt their industries,” said Esha Tiwary, General Manager, India, Entrepreneur First.

Since its launch in India in January 2019, EF has invested a total of $5 million in Indian startups and seen a 100% increase in applications. While the first cohort had 800 applications, it grew to 1,800 for the most recent cohort. The firm has been working closely with leading technology institutes and industry leaders in the ecosystem triggering greater interest for their cohorts among academicians, and young business professionals across various industries.

“Despite the global challenges posed by the covid-19 pandemic, we are seeing a steady influx of aspiring Indian entrepreneurs keen to build their dream tech start-ups,” added Tiwary.

For each cohort, EF selects around 50 potential founders and helps them find co-founders among themselves. It invests pre-seed in selected startups and those founders then move to the second stage of the programme, which involves building the product, expanding the team and deploying with early customers. Finally, once the founders are ready, they meet early-stage investors for their next round of funding.