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

Entrepreneur First (EF), a global talent investor, has announced total pre-seed investment of USD 440,000 in eight cutting-edge tech start-ups from its fourth cohort in India. As part of the company’s Demo Day, EF introduced these innovative startups, powered by new age technologies such as Machine Learning (ML), Artificial Intelligence (AI), Robotics and Virtual Reality (VR) to top early-stage investors in the country for their next round of funding.

Since its launch in India in January 2019, EF has supported more than 200 talented individuals in their entrepreneurial journey. The company has invested and facilitated a total investment of USD 5 million in Indian start-ups over the last two years.

EF has seen a 100 per cent increase in applications received since it first launched in India. While the first cohort had 800 applications, it grew to 1800 for the most recent cohort – a sign that the most ambitious aspiring founders can identify opportunity in the time of adversity. The firm has been working closely with premier technology institutes and industry leaders in the ecosystem triggering greater interest for their cohorts among academicians, and young business professionals across various industries.

Commenting on the Demo Day, Esha Tiwary, General Manager, India at Entrepreneur First said, “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.

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 startups. EF provides the best platform to connect brilliant minds in tech to the best minds in business, together with the right mentorship and financial backing.  

For each cohort, EF selects around 50 potential founders and helps them find co-founders among themselves. EF invests pre-seed in selected startups and those founders then move to the second stage of the program, 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.

With presence in six global markets, EF pioneered the concept of talent investing – finding and funding talented individuals – pre-company, pre-team, and most often, even pre-idea. EF has built over 300 technology startups that have created more than 3000 jobs worldwide since its inception in 2011.

EF’s Demo Day showcased these startups from India;  Expertia, Neuropixel, Fello, Subconscious Compute, Immunito AI, UngearVR, Aspiro and Rightbot.