D2C Insider, a community of over 10,000 direct-to-consumer founders and investors, has launched an early-stage fund. Separately, Peak XV Partners is said to be revamping its seed-investing platform Surge into a Y Combinator-style launchpad for startups in India and Southeast Asia.
D2C Insider targets $16m for VC fund
D2C Insider, a community of over 10,000 direct-to-consumer brand founders and investors, has entered the venture capital space with the launch of an early-stage fund targeting a corpus of Rs 150 crore ($16 million).
The fund—ConsumerX Ventures—seeks to support consumer startups at the pre-seed and seed stages, aiming to bridge the funding gap in this segment, media reports stated.
Established in 2019, D2C Insider is a network of founders and CXOs from the direct-to-consumer ecosystem.
Through the fund, it seeks to back 20-25 startups while keeping capital for follow-on investments up to Series A.
Surge to get Y Combinator-style makeover
Venture capital firm Peak XV Partners is revamping its seed investing platform Surge to offer a Y Combinator-style launchpad for startups in India and Southeast Asia, The Economic Times reported, citing sources.
Peak is looking to integrate Surge more closely with its broader early-stage investment strategy, with members of its venture and early-stage investing team expected to take a larger role in identifying, backing, and supporting seed-stage deals, the report added.
The proposed rejig comes after a slew of high-profile exits from the firm earlier this year, including individuals who ran or worked closely with Surge.
However, Peak XV Partners managing director Rajan Anandan reportedly denied that Surge is being scaled down or folded into the broader firm.
“Surge has always been Peak XV’s approach to seed-stage investing and company-building,” he said in response to ET’s queries. “What has evolved is the way we support founders as their needs change.”
Peak XV Partners, then operating as Sequoia India and Southeast Asia, launched Surge in 2019 as a seed programme for early-stage startups that combined funding with mentoring, workshops, and founder support.
