Year in Review: Top 10 celebrity-backed ventures of 2025

Celebrities are no longer just faces for brands and startups, they are now sitting at the table to shape narratives, accelerate growth and often direct to the next big consumer trend. 

In 2025, the line between star power and entrepreneurial stint blurred further with some of India’s biggest names in cinema, music and cricket expanding their roles from brand ambassadors to strategic investors, co-founders and creative partners. 

Celebrities backed brands that reflected their personal interests, values and cultural influences. 

YourStory has curated a list of the top 10 celebrity-backed investments that defined 2025. 

The list is in no particular order. 

Prozo

Rohit Sharma, Ranbir Kapoor 

In June, former captain of the Indian national cricket team Rohit Sharma invested an undisclosed amount in supply chain startup Prozo. Following this, actor and entrepreneur Ranbir Kapoor also invested in the startup. The details of the investment remain undisclosed. 

Founded by former Naval doctor Ashvini Jakhar in 2016, Prozo offers a full-stack platform unifying warehousing, freight, and fulfillment, allowing enterprise-grade logistics accessible through a flexible, pay-per-use model. Sharma is a strategic investor in the startup. 

So far, Prozo has raised a total of $20 million, with participation from investors including Sixth Sense Ventures and Jafco Asia. According to an official statement released by the company, Prozo operates 42 warehouses covering 2.5 million square feet and delivering to more than 24,000 pin codes. 

Gurugram-based Prozo helps more than 150 brands, including the likes of The Minimalist, Neemans. Comet, Beardo, Snitch, Traya, Powerlook and PhonePe. 

ABD Maestro 

Ranveer Singh

Allied Blenders and Distillers (ABD) shifted its premium and international spirits brands into a new company, ABD Maestro, with actor Ranveer Singh as its creative partner. ABD invested Rs 70 crore for an 80% stake, while Singh owns the remaining through his company, Oh Five Oh Talent.

ABD MAestro focuses on super-premium and luxury spirits and the brand’s portfolio includes Arthaus Blended Malt Scotch Whisky, Zoya Gin and its flavours, Woodburns Whisky, Pumori Gin and pink gin, Segredo Aldeia Cafe and White rums. 

Following the announcement of the actor’s association with the company earlier this year, ABD Maestro launched Rangeela Vodka and YELLO Designer Whisky. 

ACKO

MS Dhoni 

Former cricketer Mahendra Singh Dhoni has joined D2C insurer ACKO’s team as an investor and brand ambassador in July. Dhoni made a strategic investment through his family office Midas Deals. The details of the deal remain undisclosed. 

Founded in 2016 by Varun Dua, ACKO eliminates the pain points associated with traditional insurance models with processes that require no paperwork. It has pioneered the D2C business model through auto, health and travel insurance. It entered life insurance in 2023. 

ACKO has also partnered with companies like Oyo, redBus, Zomato, Swiggy, Razorpay and CRED, distributing insurance policies to over 78 million customers. 

Uppercase 

Jasprit Bumrah 

Indian cricketer Jasprit Bumrah joined uppercase, the Mumbai-based sustainable travel gear startup, as an investor in April this year. However, the cricketer’s association with the startup dates back three years when he came on-board as the brand ambassador. 

As a result of the collaboration, Bumrah will be expanding his role beyond being the face of the brand to actively contributing to the brand’s development. The team at uppercase will be working with Bumrah to create a new product line, and set to build the next phase of its growth journey. 

Founded by Sudip Ghose, Accel-backed Uppercase designs and manufactures environmentally friendly products using recycled materials with a focus on reducing waste and conserving natural resources. The company claims to have recycled the equivalent of 54.79 lakh plastic bottles, saving 436,193 kg of carbon dioxide emissions, and conserving 96,448 litres of oil. 

The brand operates 1,600 points of sale and has 32 outlets across a mix of Tier I, II and III cities.

It plans to open another 100 exclusive outlets over the next two years, targeting revenue of Rs 250 crore. 

EXELmoto 

Suniel Shetty, KL Rahul, Ahan Shetty 

In June this year, actor Suniel Shetty, his son Ahan Shetty, and cricketer and son-in-law KL Rahul invested in electric mobility startup EXELmoto. 

Beginning with pre-orders for its personal mobility ebikes in June, the startup launched ‘Scoot’ e-cycle, a scooter-style frame that operates with pedal assist and a bench seat, designed specially for women and elderly users, in late October. The vehicle does not require a license or registration. 

The Mumbai-based startup has now partnered with Delhivery for the B2B logistics segment. 

Founded by automotive designer and entrepreneur Akshai Varde, EXELmoto plans to scale production to 50,000 bikes annually by the third quarter of 2026. According to media reports, the startup also plans to expand to Southeast Asian and Middle Eastern markets where licence-free mobility is permitted. 

Bombay Shaving Company 

Rahul Dravid 

Indian cricketing legend Rahul Dravid has invested an undisclosed amount in Bombay Shaving Company in November. The personal care brand raised a total of Rs 136 crore in a combination of primary and secondary infusions. 

The round was led by Sixth Sense Ventures, with participation from Founder and CEO Shantanu Despande, Patni Family Office, GII and HNIs, besides Dravid.  

Bombay Shaving Company is focusing on designing and building innovative grooming solutions for young India. Clocking a revenue run-date of Rs 550 crore-plus, and achieving PAT profitability, the startup now plans to use the fundraise as a strategic step to consolidate as it prepares for a potential IPO. 

Rutland Square Spirits 

Vivek Oberoi 

Actor and entrepreneur Vivek Oberoi acquired 21% stake, for Rs 52.5 crore, in Rutland Square Spirits in May this year. Post the investment, Oberoi serves as the co-founder and Chairman. 

The premium Scottish spirits company, founded by Nishant Sharma and Veenu Sharma, is known for its oolong white-tea infused gin. The brand blends India’s tea heritage with Scotland’s spirits tradition with the use of Dibrugarh’s famous tea leaves in artisanal distilling. 

Rutland plans to raise an additional Rs 1,500 crore to establish a net-zero luxury hotel in Edinburgh featuring Scotland’s first Ayurvedic wellness centre and Europe’s first hydrogen-powered facilities. 

Scuzi 

Akkineni Naga Chaitanya 

Actor-turned-entrepreneur Akkineni Naga Chaitanya launched his latest F&B venture Scuzi, a cloud kitchen in Hyderabad, in April this year. 

Inspired by Chaitanya’s international culinary experiences and personal travels, Scuzi’s menu offers a diverse range of comfort foods with a gourmet touch. This is Chaitanya’s second venture in the F&B space, after the success of his pan-Asian brand, Shoyu. 

Shoyu expanded to Bengaluru in October.

Dear Diary 

Rashmika Mandanna 

Actor Rashmika Mandanna launched her fragrance brand Dear Diary in July, in partnership with The PCA Companies, a New York-based beauty incubator known for blending emotional storytelling with commercial viability. 

Rooted in memory and emotion, Dear Diary is a collection of perfumes inspired by Mandanna’s life experiences and personal reflections. The fragrances use ingredients sourced from India and scents like pink lotus, jasmine, sugarcane, lychee, and passionfruit. The PCA Companies helped with the global distribution and brand acceleration of Dear Diary. 

Presently available across ecommerce platforms and the brand’s website, Dear Diary is available in 10 ml bottles priced at Rs 599, and a 100 ml variant for Rs 1,599. 

Malgudi 

Shankar Mahadevan 

Indian singer and music composer Shankar Mahadevan recently joined KS Ramakrishnan, CEO and MD of Eatopia Holdings, to reimagine the latter’s acquired F&B brand Malgudi. The Grammy-winning singer joined the South Indian cuisine resto-cafe as a Co-founder, in August. 

More recently, in November, the team launched Malgudi On The Go, a QSR (quick-service restaurant) format designed to make regional cuisine accessible. 

Malgudi serves an all-vegetarian menu comprising airy thatte idli, Mulbagal dosa, and featuring a Filter Kappi Barista programme. The restaurant has already expanded to two locations in Mumbai, and is in line of opening another outlet soon.