Peak XV Eyes Up To $1.4 Bn For Maiden Independent Fund: Report

Venture capital firm Peak XV Partners is reportedly planning to raise its first independent fund since splitting with US-based Sequoia Capital two years ago.

An ET report, citing people close to the matter, said that the VC firm aims to raise $1.2 – 1.4 Bn for the new investment vehicle to back early stage startups across India and Southeast Asia.

“They had a meeting with their limited partners (sponsors in funds) recently and expressed their intention to launch their maiden fund by end of the year…The firm expects to close the fundraise by early next year and will officially inform their LPs soon,” sources told ET. 

Besides, Peak XV is also looking to make larger investments through its growth vehicle.

Inc42 has reached out to Peak XV for comments on the development. The story will be updated based on the response. 

The move can be seen as Peak XV’s attempt to establish itself as a standalone identity since its Sequoia spin off.

In June 2023, Sequoia Capital hived off Sequoia India & Southeast Asia and rebranded it as Peak XV to chart a separate path for its India and Southeast Asia portfolio. As per sources, the rationale behind splitting was portfolio overlaps. 

Sources told Inc42 in June 2023 that as a prominent global venture capital firm, Sequoia faced substantial portfolio overlaps. They noted that the evolving dynamics of the market have prompted the strategic decision to separate its investment entities. 

Peak XV inherited over $9 Bn assets under management from Sequoia India & Southeast Asia. It was reported in 2023 that it will manage the portfolio across 13 funds which comprises more than 400 companies.

Notably, in the first ten weeks after its split, Peak XV signed more than 10 term sheets in 2023. 

It further realised exits worth nearly $1.2 Bn in the 15 months since its separation from Sequoia. The VC major sold stakes in “nearly a dozen” listed portfolio companies including foodtech major Zomato, D2C unicorn Mamaearth and caller identification platform Truecaller.

Since entering India in 2006 through the acquisition of WestBridge Capital’s team, Sequoia India established itself as a leading investor in the country’s startup ecosystem, backing prominent unicorns like CRED, Meesho, Groww, Mamaearth, and Unacademy.

Peak XV’s portfolio includes unicorns such as Pine Labs, CRED, Groww, Unacademy among others and the firm is one of the earliest investors in the Indian startup ecosystem. 

It is pertinent to note that the development of the VC firm’s maiden fund came at a time when it has directed its focus towards investment in deeptech startups. 

In Startup Mahakumbh held earlier this month, its managing director Rajan Anandan said that the deeptech sector is the “final frontier” for the Indian startup ecosystem. He also stated that India is witnessing an extraordinary surge in innovations of startups.

On the VC firm’s investment approach towards deeptech he said, “We’re very actively investing in deeptech from semiconductor to space to battery recycling to biosciences to AI.”