Brazil’s Velvet is interested in Indian startups and has established a $200 million fund for emerging markets
- ByStartupStory | June 15, 2022
Velvet, a Brazilian business that provides liquidity to startup investors and employees, has expanded into India to target the country’s unicorns, soonicorns, and Series B and later startups. The platform’s initial focus will be on Bengaluru-based IT firms, followed by players from the Delhi-NCR region. Velvet intends to work with at least three to four businesses this year, providing stock liquidity solutions to its employees.
Velvet, founded in 2021 by Carlos Naupari and Edouard de Montmort, provides liquidity to both early workers and angel investors for late-stage internet startups. Velvet invests in promising, privately-held firms, allowing partners and workers to cash in on their investment before the company goes public. Velvet is now seeking startups with a valuation of more than $200 million.
Velvet raised the cash in February with the help of family offices from Switzerland and the United States, as well as the Estonian venture capital firm Yolo Investments. Velvet plans to tap at least 3 to 4 Indian startups with this pool of capital this year, but that number could rise depending on the type of startups it finds.
In January, Velvet agreed to a $10 million contract with neobank Open, which recently became a unicorn, to provide liquidity to one of Open’s early investors. However, this is Velvet’s first foray into the Indian market as a full-fledged brand. It has so far invested $30 million in startups all across the world. Velvet’s total assets under management are now valued at around $250 million.
While Velvet’s main business is providing liquidity to the businesses’ early investors, it also resells a percentage of the shares to investors who wish to learn more about these companies. Velvet currently operates in Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, India, and the United States.
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