Global venture capital firm Turbostart has launched TS Bridge, an investment platform that connects investors with high-potential startups, enabling them to co-invest alongside Turbostart.
Launched as part of its fifth-anniversary celebration of Turbostart, TS Bridge offers two investment categories: Scout, which focuses on campus-led innovation, and Rise, which supports ventures up to Series A that have demonstrated traction and are ready to scale.
“We believe the key difference with TS Bridge is that no startup will be placed on the platform unless we have invested in it ourselves. For example, if a startup is raising a million dollars, we will commit half—$500,000—from our fund, then open the remaining $500,000 to our investors,” Ganesh Raju, Founder of Turbostart, told YourStory.
Bengaluru-based Turbostart has around 180 investors, giving startups initial exposure to this network, Raju said, adding that, if, for any reason, Turbostart’s investors don’t fully subscribe to the funding, the opportunity will then be opened to external investors.
Raju stated that, in the first year, Turbostart expects around 12 startups from the Scout programme (approximately four per quarter) and 12-15 startups in the Rise programme, totalling no more than 30 startups overall.
Turbostart has selected the first four startups for TS Bridge: REALM by Lighthouse Realty Solutions is innovating luxury real estate management; ToHands, an Indian fintech startup, is offering an all-in-one device for kirana stores; Skylark is a first full-stack drone company; and Autoflow is enhancing quality assurance with its LLM-powered test automation platform.
Since Turbostart operates internationally, the startups it backs will be global, and TS Bridge’s campus programme will also extend beyond Indian institutions.
“We are very passionate about the innovation that happens on campuses, especially since we have seen many startups flourish from these environments,” Raju remarked.
“When we think about campuses and startups, some of the premier institutions come to mind. Our focus will definitely be greater there because the odds of success are higher. However, we have also seen a lot of innovation in Tier I and Tier II colleges,” he noted, adding that the platform will look at campuses in those regions as well.
“In fact, just yesterday we encountered a very interesting startup from a college in Mangalore, and we will most likely be investing in them,” Raju said.
TS Bridge will offer a flexible subscription model that makes startup investments more accessible to a wider audience.
For standard investments, the minimum entry is Rs 10 lakh for individual investors, while the campus-level investment is set at Rs 5 lakh, according to Raju.
“In terms of the number of investors and interest, we believe there will be significant engagement on the campus side. More seasoned, well-informed investors are likely to participate in the regular programme. That’s why we have set a higher entry barrier for regular startups and a lower ticket size for the campus programme,” he added.
TS Bridge offers an end-to-end platform that enables investors to stay connected with the startups they have invested in, offering support and mentorship.
The platform allows investors to track their investments in real-time and access detailed insights about startups, along with regular updates on company progress. Through a mobile app, members can explore curated startup opportunities, review comprehensive due diligence reports, and make informed investment decisions with full transparency, all while monitoring their portfolio performance.
Investments
Founded in 2019, Turbostart has a presence in four regions: India, the Middle East, the US, and Singapore. It currently manages four funds, each valued at $10 million in each of these regions.
Every 18 months, Turbostart launches a new fund, Raju said, adding that once the current funds are deployed, it will initiate another set in each region.
For instance, in India, Turbostart is already in its third fund and plans to launch the fourth in 2025, while it aims to start its second fund in the US and the Middle East in 2025, followed by Singapore in 2026, according to Raju.
Its primary objective is to invest in Indian entrepreneurs, regardless of their location, allocating at least 70% of its funds to them, while the remaining 30% is directed towards startups founded by individuals from diverse backgrounds.
Turbostart has been offering strategic support, mentoring, and funding to early and growth-stage startups. Over the past five years, it has evaluated over 6,000 startups worldwide and facilitated investments exceeding $50 million in more than 50 startups.
