Lightspeed’s move to bolster its India and Southeast Asia team comes at a time when local and global peers such as Elevation Capital and Accel have doubled down on the region by raising record capital amidst a funding downturn.
With over 30 years of experience, Gambhir has served as the chief executive officer and managing director of Godrej Consumer Products, where he spearheaded the home and personal care company. He also served as the chief strategy officer of the Godrej Group.
In his last stint, Gambhir was the CEO of audio products and wearables brand Boat and transitioned into a board member role. He also sits on the boards of other consumer startups, including Mamaearth and Magicpin.
Aluwi, in his most recent role, was cofounder and CEO of Indonesian on-demand food and transportation service Gojek. At Lightspeed, he is expected to help founders across marketing, product and scale.
“At Lightspeed, the strength of our team and partnerships acts as a force multiplier for the founders we serve. We are thrilled to welcome Vivek and Kevin into our growing teams in India and SEA. In their roles as venture partners they will be collaborating with founders, shaping their journeys, and contributing to the growth and development of our portfolio companies in the region,” said Bejul Somaia, partner, Lightspeed.
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The VC fund has invested in over 100 companies in the India and Southeast Asia region, and continues to focus on sectors such as enterprise software, fintech, consumer and ecommerce.In April last year, the venture investor had raised $500 million for its fourth India and Southeast Asia fund, its largest for the regions.
Prior to that, Lightspeed had raised $275 million as part of its third India fund in 2020.
With macroeconomic headwinds, overall funding in Indian startups plunged 70% to $7.5 billion in 2023, as investors remained skittish, data from Venture Intelligence showed.