SIDBI Fund of Funds for Startups: the ₹10,000 crore engine behind India's AIF boom

The Fund of Funds for Startups (FFS), launched in 2016 under the Startup India Action Plan and managed by SIDBI, is the Indian government's great multiplier for startup capital. It never invests directly in startups: instead it commits capital to SEBI-registered Category I and II Alternative Investment Funds ("daughter funds"), which must invest at least 2x SIDBI's contribution into Indian startups. The FFS 1.0 corpus is ₹10,000 crore, and a further ₹10,000 crore Startup India Fund of Funds 2.0 — with operational guidelines issued in 2026 and deployment across the 16th–17th Finance Commission cycles, SIDBI as initial implementation agency — emphasises deep-tech, tech manufacturing and early-stage enterprises.

Mandate

The scheme is sector-agnostic with priority for deep-tech, innovation-driven manufacturing, technology, healthcare, agriculture and education. Daughter funds under FFS 1.0 were capped at a ₹1,000 crore corpus. By SIDBI's own account (CMD, via Business Standard, November 2025), over 1,300 startups have been assisted via daughter funds, with roughly 66% raising follow-on rounds — and first-time women fund managers have outperformed within the scheme.

How it reaches founders

Startups cannot apply to FFS directly. The path is: register under Startup India (DPIIT recognition), then pitch SEBI-registered AIFs approved under the FFS scheme; if selected, the daughter fund invests on its own terms. SIDBI runs a fund-of-funds portal for daughter-fund applications and commitment tracking.

People and oversight

Manoj Mittal is Chairman and Managing Director of SIDBI (since 2024); DPIIT oversees the scheme, with a Venture Capital Investment Committee selecting the daughter AIFs. In January 2026 the Union Cabinet approved an additional ₹5,000 crore equity support to SIDBI.

Programmes and perks

No founder credits — the value is catalytic equity capital flowing through professional fund managers, multiplying every public rupee at least twofold into the ecosystem. For founders, the practical consequence is that "SIDBI-backed" on a fund's LP list is a quiet quality signal: those funds passed the Venture Capital Investment Committee's diligence and are bound to deployment discipline in Indian startups.

How to engage

Founders: get DPIIT recognition first, then identify AIFs backed by the FFS (many Indian seed and Series A funds carry SIDBI as an LP) and pitch them normally. Fund managers: apply through SIDBI's FoF portal when daughter-fund windows open.