MS Dhoni Investment Portfolio: From Captain Cool to Startup Champ

MS Dhoni isn’t just India’s most celebrated cricket captain, he’s a legend both on and off the field. From leading India to historic World Cup wins to setting the benchmark for calm, strategic leadership, his cricketing journey is the stuff of folklore. But while fans still replay the helicopter shots and the lightning stumpings, Dhoni has spent the last several years quietly building a second innings as one of India’s most active celebrity startup investors.

What makes his approach distinct from most athlete-investors is the pattern that keeps repeating across his portfolio. Dhoni rarely just writes a cheque and disappears. He tends to start as a strategic investor, study the company’s numbers and systems closely, and only then, once convinced, step forward as brand ambassador.

As the founders of House of Biryan put it, “His journey with HOB began as an investor who challenged our systems and numbers. His decision to step in as brand ambassador validates the strength of our operating model.”

As of mid-2026, his portfolio spans food-tech, fintech, drones, electric mobility, wellness, creator platforms, and insurance, a spread that reflects both personal interest and a sharp read on where India’s consumption economy is heading.

MS Dhoni Startup Investment Portfolio

Let’s take a look at the lineup of startups where MS Dhoni has put his money.

Garuda Aerospace

MS Dhoni invested ₹4 crore in Garuda Aerospace in early 2024, acquiring a 1.1% stake and joining as brand ambassador.

Founded in 2015 by Agnishwar Jayaprakash, the Chennai-based startup is a DGCA-approved “Make in India” venture building drones for agriculture, defence, and industrial use. In April 2025, Garuda raised ₹100 crore in a Series B round led by Venture Catalysts, valuing the company at $250 million. The company holds over 20 patents, operates a fleet across 84 cities, counts Swiggy, Flipkart, and DRDO among its clients, and secured an additional $1 million from the Narotam Sekhsaria Family Office in June 2025.

EMotorad

In April 2024, MS Dhoni invested in Pune-based EMotorad and also joined the company as its brand ambassador. Founded in 2020 by Rajib Gangopadhyay, Kunal Gupta, Aditya Oza, and Sumedh Battewar, EMotorad manufactures and sells electric bicycles across 350+ dealer outlets and operates 10 experience centers across India.

The company has sold over 80,000 units, with 70% of components sourced locally, backed by a $20 million Series B round in November 2023.

Rigi

In January 2023, MS Dhoni invested in Rigi, a Bengaluru-based platform operating in the creator economy space. Founded by Ananya Singhal and Swapnil Saurav, Rigi empowers educators and influencers to monetize their content through subscriptions, online courses, live workshops, and exclusive communities, primarily on platforms like WhatsApp and Telegram.

The company raised ₹100 crore in a funding round led by Elevation Capital, with participation from Accel, Sequoia, and Peak XV Partners. Dhoni’s investment aligns with the growing demand for creator-led monetization tools and supports the platform’s vision of democratizing digital income opportunities for individuals across India.

Tagda Raho

Dhoni backed Bengaluru-based Tagda Raho in late 2023. Founded by Rishabh Malhotra, the brand revives traditional Indian strength training tools like the gada, mudgar, and vajra with a modern engineering twist. Its equipment has been adopted by professional teams including Lucknow Super Giants and the National Cricket Academy, and the startup posted over 225% revenue growth in FY 2023-24.

Shaka Harry

A Bengaluru-based plant-based protein brand, Shaka Harry is riding the wave of sustainable and clean eating trends in India. MS Dhoni invested in the company in October 2022, as part of a funding round where Shaka Harry raised over $2.5 million to scale its range of vegan-friendly products including kebabs, burger patties, and more.

Owned by Liberate Foods and co-founded by Anand Nagarajan and team, the brand aims to meet the rising demand for meat alternatives that are both flavorful and nutritious, offering guilt-free indulgence for the conscious Indian consumer.

7Ink Brews

Launched under the brand name Copter7, this Mumbai-based F&B venture is one of the few on this list that Dhoni actually co-founded rather than simply backed. Inspired by his iconic jersey number 7, the brand offers a curated range of premium beverages and artisanal chocolates. 7Ink Brews has since raised around $7.4 million at a valuation of approximately $38 million.

Khatabook

MS Dhoni became an investor and brand ambassador for Bengaluru-based Khatabook in 2020. The app helps MSMEs and kirana stores manage credit and transactions digitally and has crossed 50 million downloads. With $187 million in funding from investors like Tribe Capital and Y Combinator, Khatabook is a key player in India’s digital business ecosystem.

HomeLane

Dhoni joined HomeLane in 2021 as both investor and ambassador. Founded by Srikanth Iyer and Tanuj Choudhry, the interior-design tech platform has raised nearly $200 million and serves homeowners across India with end-to-end, tech-enabled design and execution.

Cars24

In August 2019, MS Dhoni invested an undisclosed amount in Cars24, a Gurugram-based online platform for buying and selling used cars. Founded in 2015 by Vikram Chopra, Mehul Agrawal, Gajendra Jangid, and Ruchit Agarwal, the company simplifies the sale of pre-owned vehicles through a tech-driven approach. Now a unicorn, Cars24 has expanded across India and internationally, backed by leading investors like Y Combinator and Sequoia Capital.

House of Biryan

This is the most significant update to Dhoni’s portfolio since the original version of this article, and it tells a story worth following closely.

Dhoni first invested in House of Biryan (HOB), a cloud kitchen company founded in 2022 by Mohammed K. Bhol and Chef Mikhail Shahani, joining the company’s cap table in early 2025. At the time, HOB was operating over 20 outlets across Mumbai, Delhi, and Dubai, with plans to expand into Australia, Japan, the United Kingdom, and North America, targeting a network of 120 to 150 kitchens and projected revenue of ₹450 to 550 crore over the next three years.

By March 2026, the relationship had deepened considerably. Dhoni transitioned from strategic investor to official brand ambassador, with the company reporting that the brand had expanded to over 25 locations across Mumbai, Delhi, and Dubai, delivering more than 10 million orders to date and targeting ₹500 crore in revenue over the next four to five years.

“Consistency under pressure comes from strong processes. HOB has built a model where quality doesn’t depend on the outlet or the time of day. That’s very similar to how high-performing teams operate in sport,” Dhoni said of the partnership.

Acko

In July 2025, MS Dhoni’s family office, Midas Deals, invested an undisclosed amount in digital insurance startup Acko. As part of the deal, Dhoni also joined the company as its brand ambassador. The move extends his portfolio into financial services, a category he had not previously touched directly through his personal investments, joining Khatabook and Centricity as his third fintech-adjacent bet.

Kuku TV

Dhoni’s most recent confirmed investment, and his first foray into the booming Indian microdrama and short-form content space, came in March 2026.

Audio OTT soonicorn Kuku FM roped in Dhoni as both investor and brand ambassador for its microdrama app, Kuku TV, joining existing backers including KRAFTON, Vertex Growth Fund, the International Finance Corporation, Paramark Ventures, Tribe Capital India, and Bitkraft Ventures on the company’s cap table.

Founded in 2018 by Lal Chand Bisu, Vinod Kumar Meena, and Vikas Goyal, Kuku operates a portfolio of apps including Kuku TV for microdramas, Kuku FM for audio content, and Guru for edutainment, and has crossed 350 million installs with a catalogue of more than 20,000 titles across seven languages.

“I chose to invest in Kuku, and also come on board as the ambassador for Kuku TV, because the platform really stood out to me. It has built a differentiated entertainment experience for audiences across India, spanning multiple languages and formats,” Dhoni said.

Kuku FM is also reportedly gearing up for a potential public listing, having appointed Kotak Mahindra Capital, Axis Bank, and Morgan Stanley as bankers for a proposed $200 million IPO, though it has yet to complete its conversion into a public entity.

Other Notable Investments by Dhoni’s Family Office

Beyond his personal, brand-led bets, Dhoni’s family office has built a separate, quieter track record investing in larger, growth-stage businesses.

Centricity, a Gurugram-based fintech platform, raised a $20 million seed round backed by Dhoni’s family office, valuing the company at $125 million. The platform builds wealth management tools and “phygital” financial offerings targeted at Tier-2 and Tier-3 markets.

SILA, an integrated real estate advisory platform managing 200 million square feet across 125 cities, received investment from Dhoni’s family office in March 2025. The company is reportedly eyeing an IPO within three years.

BluSmart Mobility remains the most cautionary entry in Dhoni’s portfolio. His family office invested in the Gurugram-based EV ride-hailing startup during its ₹420 crore Series B round in 2024, when the company operated over 8,000 electric vehicles across Delhi-NCR, Bengaluru, and Mumbai, with revenue rising from ₹70 crore in FY23 to nearly ₹390 crore in FY24. That trajectory collapsed in April 2025, when SEBI alleged that promoters had siphoned ₹262 crore meant for EV purchases into personal luxury spending through a related entity, Gensol. The fallout triggered a regulatory crackdown, board exits, frozen accounts, and a full suspension of services across every city BluSmart operated in, a stark reminder that even a “steady, strategic” investor’s portfolio isn’t immune to founder-level governance failures.

Disclaimer: This article has been updated with MS Dhoni’s most recent investment portfolio as of June 2026. Any future additions or changes to his portfolio will be added and revised in this post regularly.