New Delhi, Oct. 15 -- Once focused on large, late-stage investments, India's family offices are now venturing into riskier early-stage startup territory-carving out a small but potentially more rewarding portfolio diversification.

Family offices are increasingly investing more in venture capital firms that back early-stage startups, departing from their traditional playbook of focusing on IPO-ready or pre-IPO funding rounds that deliver faster returns, said fund managers and investment advisors.

While family offices mostly allocate only $2-8 million to such VC funds, the investments open up crucial access to their distribution, supply, and hiring networks, they said.

According to these industry executives, Ranjan Pai's investment vehic...