BYJU’S, Udaan Backer Lightspeed Hires Vivek Gambhir & Kevin Aluwi As Venture Partners

SUMMARY

A veteran with 30 years of experience, prior to this, Gambhir was the CEO and managing director of Godrej Consumer Products Limited (GCPL) where he led the transformation and global expansion of the company

Aluwi was a cofounder and CEO at Gojek, Indonesia’s ride-hailing, food-delivery, and payments app

Founded in 2008, Lightspeed counts OYO, Udaan, Sharechat, AccelData, Innovaccer, PocketFM, Darwinbox, Razorpay, Aspire and Youtrip, among others as its portfolio

Multi-stage venture capital firm Lightspeed Venture Partners, which has backed several Indian unicorns such as BYJU’S, Udaan, ShareChat, Razorpay and Innovacer, has roped in Vivek Gambhir and Kevin Aluwi as venture partners to firm up its expansion plans across India and southeast Asia.

Gambhir primarily works closely with the founding teams to help them scale up their businesses and accelerate value creation and will lend his leadership experience to the next generation of builders in the Lightspeed portfolio, the VC firm said in a statement.

With 30 years of experience, Gambhir was the chief executive and managing director of Godrej Consumer Products Limited (GCPL) where he led the transformation and global expansion of the company. He also served as the chief strategy officer of the group responsible for formulating group vision, defining portfolio strategy, mentoring company CEO’s and enhancing strategic capability of group companies.

Earlier, he was also the founding member of Bain and Company’s consulting operations in India. Besides, he was also with Metropolis Healthcare, Honasa Consumer (Mamaearth) and Samast Technologies (Magic Pin) as board member.

On the other hand, Aluwi was a cofounder and CEO at Gojek and was associated with Indonesia’s ride-hailing, food-delivery and payments app.

The statement further said that his expertise in the SEA region will enable Lightspeed to help other founders as a thought partner for company building, particularly

in product, marketing, and scaling organisations.

Bejul Somaia, Partner, Lightspeed said, “In their roles as Venture Partners, Vivek and Kevin will be collaborating with founders, shaping their journeys, and contributing to the growth and development of our portfolio companies in the region.”

Founded in 2008, Lightspeed focuses on categories including enterprisetech SaaS and fintech, while leaning into emerging trends across AI, climate and spacetech recognising the immense potential for growth in the region.

Last month, it led Bengaluru-based Sarvam AI’s $41 Mn Series A funding round.