The Oyo Connection You Didn’t Know Shah Rukh Khan’s Family Has
Photo Credit: The Oyo app on an iPhone. Adobe Stock / picsmart
Skift Take
It’s not every day that the cap table of a hospitality tech startup reads like a Bollywood afterparty guest list. But Oyo seems to be pulling that off. If the company ever does IPO, red carpets at the listing ceremony won’t be metaphorical.
It’s no longer just institutional capital flowing into Indian travel startups. Celebrities are now showing up on cap tables, not just as brand ambassadors or endorsers, but as financial backers.
From actors and radio hosts to cricket icons, high-profile Indians are betting on travel platforms, reflecting a broader shift in how India’s startup ecosystem is being funded.
The latest example comes from Oyo, the hospitality company that raised more than INR 14 billion ($163 million) in its Series G funding round. But this wasn’t just another round led by venture capital firms.
Among the investors was film producer and designer Gauri Khan, who picked up 2.4 million shares in Oyo. Khan is the wife of Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan.
While the company hasn’t disclosed the value of her individual investment, the funding round pegs Oyo’s valuation at $4.6 billion, less than half its peak valuation of $10 billion.
