Ex-Sequoia Capital India arm raises $1.3 billion after key exits – CNBC TV18

Peak XV Partners has raised $1.3 billion across three new funds, as the venture capital firm looks to invest in artificial intelligence and consumer startups across India and South East Asia.

Peak XV will mostly invest the money in India, the firm’s managing director Shailendra Singh, told Bloomberg News on Friday, February 20. The company still has significant dry powder from its growth fund, he said.

Peak XV, which is based in India and Singapore and invests in the Asia-Pacific region, was formed in 2023 after Sequoia Capital split into three independent entities covering the US, China, and Southeast Asia and India.

This is Peak XV’s first injection of fresh capital since the split, but is less than half the $2.85 billion it raised under the Sequoia brand in 2022.

“Obviously, as a venture capital firm, we have to always live on the edge of where innovation is going, where the world is going. So are we very front and center focused on AI? Absolutely,” Singh said. The firm will also focus on fintech and consumer startups.

Peak XV has faced a series of setbacks before and after its re-brand. Several senior employees left the firm after the split with Sequoia, including three managing directors.

To attract more business in India’s hot startups market, the company took the unusual step of slashing management fees on several growth funds. It also cut its share of profits from the funds.

Several marquee bets have declined after funding and valuation highs during the Covid-19 pandemic. Among the most dramatic were the valuation collapse and governance crisis at Indian online tutoring platform Byju’s, the implosion of Singapore’s fashion e-commerce startup Zilingo Pte and corporate governance issues at Indian fintech BharatPe.

The company, which has more than $10 billion in assets under management, was an early backer of popular Indian food-delivery app Zomato and fintech Pine Labs.

“If you ask me at Peak XV, what do we really want to do with this fund? If there’s one phrase I could tell you, we want to find global maxima companies,” said Singh.