[Funding alert] From Jennifer Lopez to Malaika Arora, yoga brand SARVA wins the backing of star power

It’s nothing new for celebrities and global icons to take active interest in the startup ecosystem. From popular Hollywood names like Ashton Kutcher to those closer to home like Alia Bhatt, Hrithik Roshan, and Salman Khan, it has almost been a natural association between star power and startups. This pool of celeb investors, however, is about to get crowded soon with the latest round of investment in SARVA.

A yoga and wellness brand, the Indian startup, in a first-of-its-kind move, brought together a slew of global stars as investors to participate in a recent friends-and-family fundraise round. Among the marquee investors were pop icon and prominent US personality Jennifer Lopez, former American baseball shortstop Alex Rodriguez, Bollywood star Malaika Arora, and branded fitness platform Zumba.

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Apart from these popular faces, SARVA also boasts a curated list of global investors, including David Giampaolo, Chief Executive of Pi Capital; Mark Mastrov, Founder of 24 Hour Fitness Worldwide; Bill Roedy, Former Chairman & CEO of MTV Networks, backing the wellness brand.

The company was founded by yogi-turned-entrepreneur Sarvesh Shashi in 2016 with the ultimate goal of building a global community of physically, mentally, and emotionally fit individuals, achieved through yoga and mindfulness.

Commenting on the latest investment, Jennifer Lopez said,

“The enthusiasm that Sarvesh brings to SARVA is promising and infectious. I believe in the vision of SARVA and view it as a great common ground for a brilliant investment opportunity along with co-creating and serving a global community."

Currently, SARVA has 91 studios across Mumbai, Delhi, and Bengaluru. By 2022, the startup aims to have 500 brick and mortar studios in 15 cities across the country and simultaneously build a global community of over 100 million on their digital platform.

Sarvesh Shashi, Founder and CEO, of SARVA added on the development, 

"We are really excited by the faith shown in us and our mission by some of the brightest and most successful people in the world. We welcome them all to the SARVA family. Stress, anxiety, sleeplessness, depression, and obesity have become a global epidemic for people of all ages and we are trying to curate physical and digital offerings and services for different needs, ages and geographies to help people empower themselves with the tools to lead better lives"

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