26-year-old Indian tech billionaire Ritesh Agarwal, founder of fast-growing hotel chain startup Oyo, has turned to Singapore to set up a new venture capital firm.

With Aroa Ventures, he’s investing between $500,000 and $5 million in early-stage startups, reports Entrackr. According to the VC outfit’s website, it’s on the hunt for fledgling tech companies that make $1 million to $10 million revenue and can show annual growth of at least 20%.

It’s not clear how much cash is sitting in its first investment fund.

Oyo, Ritesh Agarwal
Oyo founder Ritesh Agarwal / Photo: Wikimedia
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Agarwal has tapped Gaurav Gulati, part of the founding team at Innov8 Coworking, which Oyo acquired last year, to head Aroa Ventures.

Ritesh Agarwal, Oyo facts & stats:

  • Started Oyo in 2013 in the northern Indian city of Gurgaon
  • Became a millionaire at 22
  • Oyo’s $10 billion valuation now makes Agarwal a billionaire on paper
  • As with entire travel industry, Oyo is hit hard by the pandemic
  • Oyo is backed by Softbank