Yuvraj Singh buys stake in healthcare startup Wellversed; deal values firm near Rs 100 crore

Former cricketer Yuvraj Singh has invested in full-stack nutrition brand Wellversed. According to the company statement, it has raised an undisclosed amount from Singh's YWC Ventures in its Pre-Series A funding valuing the two-and-a-half-year-old startup at nearly Rs 100 crore. Apart from the said investment, Singh will all also be Wellversed's brand ambassador for three years and will be closely working with the founding team to scale the business.

The association will help the startup "scale expansion in newer markets, upgrade technology, and strengthen the company's supply chain and R&D." The company has already gained a strong foothold in metropolitan and tier-1 cities and aims at "expanding across rapidly tier-2 cities as well as entering new international markets in the future."

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Meanwhile, the company also plans to raise its Series A round of investments in early 2021.

Speaking about what prompted him to invest in Wellversed, (Yuvraj) Singh said, "During my battle with cancer, I realised the importance of maintaining a good nutrition regime for our overall health and wellness. Wellversed is redefining the way nutrition and food products are crafted. It is not just another nutrition brand to me, it's a technological innovation that paves the way for a fundamental change in the entire nutrition ecosystem."

Singh's earlier investments include the ones in JetSetGo - India's first plane aggregator for private jets and helicopters, Healthians - India's largest at-home health test service provider, HoloSuit - an AR/VR based tech startup.

Founded by Aanan Khurma, Wellversed was started with the goal of healthspan maximisation, an idea Khurma thought of while pursuing his research into clinical nutrition at the Microsoft Ventures Accelerator in Israel. He then joined forces with Industrial Designer Aditya Seth to design specialised food production equipment and fellow Stanford Biodesign alumni Ripunjay Chachan to lead the business operations, both of whom came on board as co-founders of the startup.

Talking about why the company chose the cricketer, Khurma said, "Yuvraj Singh has a high synergy with our brand in terms of the change that we aim to bring to the society at large. He has high faith in the intent and expertise of our team, as we take on the challenge of redefining the way food and nutrition is perceived and consumed by people."

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Wellversed has products that span across 8 nutrition regimes and is a dominant brand in the ketogenic and the low-carb segment. The company claims it fulfills 50,000 product units per month and has witnessed a robust growth of over 250% in the last year.

Khurma says that the startup has facilitated more than 12,000 health transformation plans for weight loss, skin health, hair care, and sexual health, over 40% of the company's revenue is direct-to-consumer through their own website.

Wellversed products are available across 25 online channels including their own website, Amazon, LBB, Big Basket, 1MG, Healthkart, Qtrove, Milk Basket, and more.