Former BP Ventures analyst joins from mobility startup, Via, as InMotion Ventures expands team
London UK, 12th August 2022 – InMotion Ventures, the corporate venture capital arm of Jaguar Land Rover, has hired Sam Nasrolahi as Principal. Nasrolahi will be responsible for sourcing and leading new deals, as well as supporting existing InMotion portfolio companies. Her focus area is in consumer digital services and the consumerisation of B2B. The appointment comes as InMotion Ventures seeks to supercharge its strategic investments into startups building a sustainable future for the automotive industry.
Nasrolahi joins InMotion from mobility startup Via, where she managed the launch of the company’s ridesharing and on-demand delivery services in EMEA and the US – including deciding on go-to-market and growth strategy, product development, marketplace economics, pricing, and operations – and was part of the company’s transition from consumer marketplace to B2B SaaS model. Previously, she was at BP focused on transitioning the oil and gas giant towards the sustainable mobility and wider low-carbon innovation space. While at BP Ventures, she identified and evaluated opportunities leading to investments in startups including MaaS Global, Voltaware, and PowerShare, before becoming lead investment analyst for M&A worth $74 million.
Launched in 2016, InMotion Ventures is the corporate venture capital arm of Jaguar Land Rover. With deep sector-specific knowledge, the investment team – led by Principal Alex Smout – collaborates with subject matter experts at JLR to identify and invest in the very best, transformative startups that will have a meaningful impact on accelerating the core business’s global strategy. The team invests in startups across the ACES, sustainability, fintech and intelligent enterprise: and provides expertise and resources to founders to help them scale through the unique challenges of the automotive industry. Although InMotion Ventures predominantly targets US and European businesses, it boasts a global reach and invests in startups at all stages from Seed to Series B.
Alex Smout, Principal at InMotion Ventures, said: “We are thrilled to have Sam join InMotion Ventures as our new Principal. Her corporate investing background at BP Ventures make her the perfect addition as we identify new investment opportunities, and her operational experience at one of the mobility industry’s most exciting startups will be an invaluable resource for our portfolio founders as they continue to scale their businesses.”
Sam Nasrolahi, Principal at InMotion Ventures, said: “I’m really excited to join InMotion at this time, as they look to ramp up their investment activity in the automotive sector. The team’s reputable depth of knowledge and expertise, combined with its comprehensive network within the startup ecosystem, made it a perfect fit for me.”
