Former Gojek tech chief Ajey Gore joins Sequoia India as operating partner

Ajey Gore, the former chief technology officer at Gojek, has been appointed to serve as the operating partner of technology of Sequoia Capital India.

Gojek group chief technology officer Ajey Gore / Photo credit: Screenshot from Youtube

Gore will work with its portfolio chief technology officers and chief product officers by providing insight and expertise in building and scaling engineering, data science, product, and design functions, Shailendra Singh, managing director at Sequoia Capital, wrote in a post.

Sequoia India said the appointment would help the company expand its contributions in these areas, which were previously led by its director of technology Anandamoy ‘Roy’ Roychowdhary. Roychowdhary has transitioned into a full-time investment advisory role as a principal with the Surge team.

“Ajey, one of the most respected CTOs in Asia, is famously a commerce graduate and self-taught engineer,” Singh noted. “His transformational role at Gojek is widely known, but more importantly, his principles and philosophies for leading engineering and product teams are much admired.”

Gore left Gojek in June to “take a personal break” after five years working there. Prior to Gojek, Gore founded software startup CodeIgnition, which was then acquired by the ride-hailing giant. He also previously worked as the chief technology officer at Hoppr and head of technology of ThoughtWorks.

Meanwhile, Sequoia India also named Star India’s chief marketing officer Gayatri Vasudeva Yadav and Salesforce’s Shweta Rajpal Kohli as its chief marketing officer and head of public policy, respectively.

“At a time when technology is transforming the world and capital is abundant, the one thing that stands out for the very best startups or VC firms is the ability to attract and nurture extraordinary talent,” Singh wrote.

Sequoia has invested across the region for over 14 years. Its portfolio companies include ride-hailing giant Gojek, ecommerce platform Tokopedia, and hospitality firm Oyo, among others.

Just last month, Sequoia India said it secured a total of US$1.4 billion for two funds in India and Southeast Asia, which comprises a US$525 million venture fund and an US$825 million growth fund.