Tata Sons Chairman Emeritus Ratan Tata seems to be on an investment spree this year. The former chairman of the diversified Tata Group has invested an undisclosed amount in B2B marketplace for industrial products Moglix and next-generation cancer therapeutic start-up Invictus Oncology.

With this, Tata has invested in half a dozen start-ups since the beginning of this year.

Eclectic mix While Moglix is a manufacturing tech start-up, Invictus is a medical tech firm, which makes Tata’s portfolio quite varied, with a mix of e-commerce, fin-tech, medicine and analytics.

Tata’s recent investment also speaks a lot about the kind of companies he bets on. Most of the start-ups are early-stage companies that have either got Series A funding or are preparing to get into it. Tata, who invests anything between ₹10 lakh and ₹5 crore, also plays an important role in mentoring the companies on business growth, expansion and leadership.

Founded in August 2015 by Rahul Garg, a former Google employee with extensive experience in building global products and running sales across Asia, Moglix focuses on technologically disrupting the B2B industrial products space for suppliers and buyers across the globe.

The company currently specialises in B2B procurement of industrial products such as MRO, fasteners and industrial electricals and is partnering manufacturers and distributors across these categories in India, China and other Asian countries.

Invictus is a cancer therapeutics venture founded by RA Mashelkar, former director general of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, and Harvard Medical School’s Shiladitya Sengupta. The company is also backed by VC firms Navam Capital and Aarin Capital.

The 78-year-old Tata, who has now turned serial investor, said he invests in a company that excites him and bets on entrepreneurs who are passionate about the company.

“I am absolutely thrilled to be part of the start-up ecosystem. Unfortunately, I don’t have billions of dollars to invest…in my small way I lend my support to entrepreneurs with interesting business ideas who are finding it difficult to get investments because their businesses are not very sexy,” Tata said at a public forum recently.

Tata, who is currently one of the most sought-after investors in the Indian start-up ecosystem, pumped money into over 28 start-ups in 2012, including Olacabs, Snapdeal and Paytm. His recent investments were in Tracxn, Cashkaro, Firstcry and, Dogspot.

He has also invested in a few foreign start-ups.

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