Sequoia splits into 3 independent entities, India biz now Peak XV Partners

Venture Capital giant Sequoia India & Southeast Asia has rebranded itself to Peak VX Partners. The VC firm will now manage its assets under management (AUM) in the region of over $9.2 billion across 13 funds independently.

The rebranding exercise followed Sequoia Capital’s break-up into three independent entities across the globe. Besides Sequoia India & Southeast Asia, Sequoia China business has adopted the name HongShan in English (it will retain its existing name in Chinese). The US and Europe venture capital business will continue to function as Sequoia Capital. 

Over the years, strategies for each of the aforementioned businesses have diverged. The scale and market leadership across different geographies started to result in brand confusion and portfolio conflict, Peak XV said in a statement. There will be no change in the firm’s portfolio management strategy.

“It’s a new beginning for us as Peak XV Partners, but unlike most beginnings, this is an opportunity for us to build on top of the foundation laid over the last 17 years,” said Shailendra Singh, managing director, Peak XV Partners.

Peak XV was the original name given to Mount Everest and symbolises the relentless pursuit of audacious goals by founders, the company said.  

“Our firm will continue to be managed by the present leadership team and will continue to invest from the most recently raised set of funds focused on India and Southeast Asia,” Singh added. Peak XV’s current funds include $2.5 billion (Rs 20,000 crore) of uninvested capital.

Over the last 17 years, Sequoia India & Southeast Asia has raised 13 funds and invested in over 400 start-ups, with more than 50 companies valued at $1 billion and above. The portfolio has seen 19 IPOs and multiple M&As resulting in $4.5 billion of realised exits, so far. The investment team is led by 11 managing directors with an average tenure of over 12 years at the firm.

“We are seeing companies emerge from every region with global ambitions. The flexibility that comes with the new structure will open up an unbounded global opportunity and help create more value for our founders and LPs,” Singh said.

Peak XV Partners said it will continue to invest across stages (seed, venture, growth), in sectors like SaaS, AI, developer tools, cybersecurity, cloud infrastructure, climate tech, fintech, healthtech, and consumer. The firm will further strengthen its programmes like Surge and Spark.

This comes at a time when the firm’s investments in India, across stages, fell 95 per cent to $114.1 million until May this year, from around $2.1 billion in the same period in 2022, according to data from Tracxn – a market intelligence platform.

Despite the firm’s India bets hitting the skids, Anandamoy Roychowdhary, Surge Partner, Peak XV Partners, recently told Business Standard that it has been "business as usual" for the firm’s early-stage portfolio companies.

Some of the firm’s Indian portfolio companies have also recently found themselves in hot water due to regulatory financial challenges.

A behemoth

• $9.2-billion AUM across 13 funds
• $2.5 billion as uninvested capital
• 400 start-ups received investment from Sequoia India & Southeast Asia (now Peak XV Partners)
• 50 have a valuation of $1 billion or above
• $4.5 billion worth of realised exits thus far