Indian VC Shake-Up: Taking Note Of Top-Level VC Exits This Year

The Indian investor ecosystem was in complete disarray in 2023. Largely to blame for this were a slew of partner exits, funds splits, the exit of Omidyar Network from India, and diminishing VC and PE trust in Indian startups.

However, contrary to last year, 2024 is being touted as the year of resurgence. While partner exits at VC firms continued this year, lucrative returns absorbed much of this volatility as the great Indian startup IPO spring began appearing on the horizon.

Further, realising there was a pent-up demand for exits among early investors and a surge in secondary deals, most of these partners quit their cushy jobs to float their own funds to make capital more accessible to Indian founders. 

Key figures, including Piyush Gupta from Peak XV Partners, Sameer Brij Verma from Nexus Venture Partners, and Raj Dugar from Eight Roads Ventures, transitioned to the secondary market to capitalise on these opportunities.

Then there was Peak XV’s chief public policy and communications officer Shweta Rajpal Kohli who resigned from the VC firm to launch the Startup Policy Forum. Others like Saharsh Sharma (formerly at Orios Venture Partners) and to-be-shut Omidyar Network India’s Tariq Musthafa are still keeping their cards close to their chest. 

While the capital drought of the past three years has taught tough lessons to startups and investors alike, much lies on the shoulders of these new fund managers, who have embarked on new adventures to spark a revolution in the VC value chain. 

In line with this, we’ve compiled a list of top VC partners who made exits to embark on new journeys this year. The initiative is part of the 11th edition of Inc42’s annual “Year in Review” series — 2024 In Review. 

Note: This is not a ranking of any kind and the names have been listed in alphabetical order

Abhishek Nag Leaves Lightspeed To Join 360 One Asset

After a brief two-year stint as a partner for Lightspeed India, Abhishek Nag jumped ship in March 2024 to head early-stage investments at 360 One Asset, a wealth management company. 

Since Nag joined 360 One Asset in March, the firm has backed early-stage startups like Funstop Games, Aero, and Airbound, among others. 

The ISB alum, Nag entered the investment arena in 2022, after 15 years of working with companies like Netflix, Meta, Uber, and Facebook, among others. While operating as an angel investor, he backed sixty companies, including Mobile Premier League, MyGate, slice, Onsurity, and Blue Tokai Roasters, among others.

During his corporate stint, he cofounded micro VC fund Atrium Angels in 2021. He served as the cofounder of the micro VC fund till 2022 prior to joining Lightspeed India as a partner.

Anandamoy Roychowdhary Exits Peak XV After 11 Years 

Taking to social media platform X in November, partner at Peak XV Surge, Anandamoy Roychowdhary, announced his exit from the firm. 

“Petal wafts from the rose, drawn by dreams of mastery. cedes post Nov 30th”. peakxv 2013-24,” Roychowdhary wrote in the post. 

Roychowdhary joined the then Sequoia India as director of technology and was a technology advisor to the VCs portfolio startups, which also included BYJU’s. After Peak XV-Sequoia split last year, he joined the former as a Surge Partner. He kept the position for one and a half years. 

Per his LinkedIn profile, he is now “unemployed” but serving as an investor in startups like Atlan, Mobile Premier League, ClearFeed, SquareX, TrueFoundry, and Web3Auth, among others.

Aviral Bhatnagar Quits Venture Highway To Focus On A Junior VC

After spending over three years with VC firm Venture Highway, Aviral Bhatnagar departed from the firm in April this year. During his stint, he was leading investments in SaaS, consumer and AI sectors. Besides, he also takes credit for building Venture Highway’s student venture programme.

Bhatnagar seemingly parted ways from the VC to focus on his own investment entity, A Junior VC (AJVC). Although he founded the pre-seed fund in 2018, he assumed the role of its managing partner in August. 

Since August, he has been focussing on investing in Indian pre-seed startups. As per the VC firm’s LinkedIn profile, AJVC Fund I is a 100 Cr SEBI-regulated Category II Fund. 

Gaurav Bindal Quits Orios Amid Top-Level Exits

In October, Orios Venture Partners’ chief financial officer (CFO) and chief operation officer (COO), Gaurav Bindal quit amid a spate of top-level exits at the venture capital (VC) firm. 

Bindal took care of fund operations and transaction closure and other areas, including finance, legal, compliance and HR at Orios. He led the closure of all investment deals at the VC since his joining in 2021. 

Important to mention that neither the VC nor Bindal publicly confirmed the departure since it was reported in the media.

Bindal has almost 20 years of experience working in the field of finance. Before joining Orios, Gaurav Bindal gained experience working with companies such as EY, ITC, and XSEED Education. He is also an alumnus of Delhi University. 

Piyush Gupta Quits Peak XV To Float Own Venture

In April, Peak XV’s managing director Piyush Gupta stepped down from his position to set up his own secondaries-focussed VC firm. Cut to November, Gupta floated Kenro Capital after joining forces with Norbert Fernandes, the former director of secondary private equity firm TR Capital Group.

Gupta joined Peak XV in 2017 and helmed the VC firm’s strategic development team. During his tenure, Gupta claimed to have been part of secondary market deals such as Peak XV’s stake sale in Zomato as well as Mastercard’s investment in Peak XV-backed Pine Labs. 

His new firm, Kenro Capital, will do secondary investment deals in growth-stage startups that are profitable or nearing profitability or are planning to list in the next 2-3 years. It marked its first investment in edtech K-12 Techno Services earlier in December. 

Rahul Chaudhary Exits Z47 To Float His Own Venture

Treebo cofounder Rahul Chaudhary, who joined Z47 (erstwhile Matrix Partners India) as venture partner in February last year, quit the Bengaluru-based VC firm in May 2024 to launch his own venture.

During his relatively short tenure at Z47, Chaudhary led early-stage investments, particularly in seed to Series A rounds.

During his term at Z47, the VC firm launched a new $450 Mn fund, later increasing the target corpus to $525 Mn. The new fund has already invested in a string of startups, including Neysa, Scapia, InPrime, Ola Krutrim, Aampe, Atomic Work, Wootz.work, and Stable Money, among others.

Prior to joining Z47, Chaudhary was one of the cofounders of Treebo Hotels, a chain of budget hotels, where he continues to be a board member.

Raj Dugar Quits Eight Road Ventures To Launch Secondary Fund

Asia managing partner at Eight Roads Ventures, Raj Dugar stepped down after 17 years with the investment firm. Reports suggest that he wanted to launch his own fund to capitalise on the growing demand for secondary deals.

Dugar joined the Fidelity-backed VC firm in 2007 and played a key role in setting up its operations in the Indian and Southeastern markets. Since entering the Indian market, Eight Roads Ventures has backed startups like Chai Point, Pharmeasy, Shadowfax, Northern Arc, and Toothsi, among others. 

Before joining the global VC firm, Dugar served as a director for PE firm The Carlyle Group for three years. He also cofounded WestBridge Capital Partners in 2000, serving as its managing director for three years.

Dugar’s exit is also part of a broader trend of high-profile departures in India’s investor ecosystem. In April, Peak XV Partners’ managing director Piyush Gupta, General Catalyst’s Anand Chandrasekaran, and Venture Highway’s Aviral Bhatnagar transitioned from their roles.

Saharsh Sharma Parts Ways With Orios Venture Partners After 5 Years 

Mid-December, Saharsh Sharma stepped down from his role of assistant vice president at Orios Venture Partners after serving the Mumbai-based VC firm for five years.

“I bid adieu to Orios Venture Partners, grateful for all the experiences during this journey – onto my next endeavour soon, and a relaxing winter break :),” Sharma said in a LinkedIn post.

During his tenure, Sharma led seed investments and Series A rounds in companies such as EV startup Battery Smart, edtech startup Nxtwave, and healthtech startup Kenko Health, among others.

Before joining Orios in 2019, Sharma incorporated healthcare startup Haplo Health in 2017. Sharma has also previously worked as a senior business analyst at OLA and as a business analyst at logistics startup Rivigo.

While Sharma did not specify what he plans to do next, his experience positions him well for future roles in venture capital and entrepreneurship.

Sameer Brij Verma Exits Nexus Venture Partner To Float A Secondary Fund

After an over 13-year-long stint at Nexus Venture Partners, Sameer Brij Verma departed from the VC firm in September 2024. As per his LinkedIn profile, Verma decided to put down his papers to pursue his own entrepreneurial journey, building VC firm Northpoint Capital Management.

He established the firm in October and aimed to turn Northpoint Capital Management into “India’s leading investment firm”.  

Besides Northpoint, Verma continues to serve as the founder and chief investment officer of BroadBridge Capital Management. BroadBridge is a pre-IPO investor at the National Stock Exchange, backing startups like Astrotalk and slice.

He also founded investment firm Breakthrough Capital in 2017, an entity which he said has since been “sunsetted” as he embarked on building Northpoint starting October 1, 2024. 

Verma also currently serves as the founder of Ashoka University and Plaksha University.

Shashank Randev Exits 100X.VC After A 5-Year Stint

Shashank Randev, cofounder and partner at 100X.VC, announced his departure from the early-stage venture capital (VC) firm after more than five years. Although he shared the news on LinkedIn, neither did he disclose the reason for his exit nor his future plans.

During his tenure, Randev played a pivotal role in scaling 100X.VC into a leading early-stage seed fund. The firm invested $20 Mn in 180 Indian startups, supported over 400 founders, and impacted 4,000+ employees. Randev led 100 investments with ticket sizes of $150K each and 80 investments worth $30K per startup. 

An alumnus of Nagpur University and IMI Delhi, Randev cofounded 100X.VC with Sanjay Mehta in 2019. The firm’s portfolio includes startups like abCoffee, Accio Robotics, and Kerala Banana Chips.

His exit came amid a series of high-profile departures in India’s investor ecosystem, including those from Venture Highway, Orios Venture Partners, and other major VC firms, reflecting a broader churn in the funding landscape.

Shweta Rajpal Kohli Steps Down From Peak XV, Launches Policy Forum For Startups

In October this year, Shweta Rajpal Kohli stepped down from her role as chief public policy and communications officer from Peak XV Partners after a tenure of more than four years at the VC firm.

Last year, Sequoia split into three entities — Sequoia Capital in the US and Europe, Peak XV Partners in India and Southeast Asia, and HongShan in China.

Prior to the split, Kohli served as chief public officer of Sequoia Capital India & Southeast Asia.

After parting ways with Peak XV, Kohli launched the Startup Policy Forum to foster constructive collaboration between founders, policymakers and regulators. 

Among startups that have joined Kohli’s new venture as members include Razorpay, Cred, Pine Labs, Cardekho, Jupiter, Swiggy, ixigo, Cars24, Dream11, and MobiKwik, among others. 

Sushma Kaushik Quits Aavishkar Capital To Take On New Challenges

In January this year, Sushma Kaushik, a former partner at Aavishkar Capital — the investment arm of Aavishkar Group — quit after serving the VC firm for more than 11 years.

Announcing her departure from Aavishkar Capital on LinkedIn, Kaushik said, “After an enriching time at Aavishkaar Capital, it’s time for new beginnings… As I move forward, I am excited to take on new challenges and continue building businesses and investing in the future.”

Kaushik joined the VC firm in 2011 as a senior investment manager. She became a partner at the firm in 2019.

Her LinkedIn profile shows that she joined growth-stage venture fund 108 Capital as a partner a month after leaving Aavishkar Capital.

Tariq Musthafa Leaves Omidyar Network India After 5 Years 

Tariq Musthafa quit the impact investment fund Omidyar Network India in June this year after a five-year-long stint. In his role as principal of investments, he was part of 20 deals amounting to $13 Mn across startups such as Presolv360, Project Tech4Dev, and RAIL.

Prior to joining Omidyar Networks India, Musthafa served as a managing partner at FindYourPG for two years. He also worked across several departments at Central Square Foundation for almost four years.

Omidyar Network India is the investment arm of Omidyar Network, the brainchild of eBay founder Pierre Omidyar. The India arm of the VC firm exited the country this year. It has backed several startups, including digital healthcare platform 1mg, edtech startup Vedantu, and healthcare startup HealthKart.

[Edited By Shishir Parashar]

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