Sequoia Capital Eyes India Comeback With Investment In Vance

Over a year after it spun off its India entity, VC firm Sequoia Capital is reportedly eyeing a return to Indian soil. 

The California-based VC firm is in advanced discussions to invest in Bengaluru-based fintech startup Vance, TechCrunch reported, citing sources. 

Inc42 has reached out to Vance to get further details on the fundraise talks. The story will be updated on receiving a response. 

If the deal materialises, it would be Sequoia Capital’s first investment in an Indian startup since it spun off its India and Southeast Asia operations and rebranded it as Peak XV Partners. The firm’s China business was also hived off and rebranded as HongShan.

During its 17-year long India operation, Sequoia Capital invested in prominent startups like Zomato, BYJU’S, Ola, Meesho, CRED, Honasa Consumer, among others. Upon the much talked about hive off, Peak XV inherited Sequoia Capital’s India portfolio of over $9.2 Bn across 13 funds in June 2023.  

From the investment portfolio, Peak XV realised nearly $1.2 Bn from exits during the 15 months after separation. 

Sequoia Capital, which has been operational for more than five decades, has made notable investments in tech companies like Google, Apple, Nvidia, Cisco, YouTube, WhatsApp. 

Sequoia Capital’s India reentry ticket, Vance, founded in 2022, is a Bengaluru-based startup that provides non-residential Indians (NRIs) a neobanking platform via which they can make cross-border payments in India. 

It also allows users to invest in India-based mutual funds through its app. Vance claims that it has a user base of 1.46 Lakh NRIs who have made transactions worth over $75 Mn.

The startup last raised $5.8 Mn in its seed round led by Hummingbird Ventures in October 2022. Global Founders Capital, Y Combinator, Soma Capital and angel investors Alan Rutledge and Gokul Rajaram also participated in the round.