Sequoia India and SEA rebrands as Peak XV Partners

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Sequoia, one the world’s most prestigious VC firms, is splitting into three independent entities and plans to complete this process by March 2024.

The three firms will be: Sequoia Capital for the US and Europe, HongShan for China, and Peak XV Partners for India and Southeast Asia.

According to a global business update Sequoia sent to its limited partners, the move is aimed at resolving portfolio conflicts, brand confusion, operational complexity, and geopolitical challenges.

“It has become increasingly complex to run a decentralized global investment business,” Sequoia partners Roelof Botha, Neil Shen, and Shailendra Singh wrote in the announcement.

“Each business will continue to serve the founders and ecosystems where they operate with the flexibility the comes with an independent brand.”

Specifically for India and Southeast Asia, the firm said it has about US$2.5 billion of uninvested capital to continue supporting founders and double down in both regions, including expanding accelerator programs Surge and Spark.

To date, Sequoia India and Southeast Asia has raised US$9.2 billion across 13 funds and invested in more than 400 startups in the regions. 

However, some of its portfolio companies made headlines in recent years due to financial mismanagements, most notably Zilingo and GoMechanic.

In January, Bloomberg reported that such cases prompted Sequoia’s India unit to eye audits for some of its investments in South Asia. At the time, the investor said it would have a stricter selection process to decide who gets to sit on its portfolio firms’ boards.

Sequoia was founded in 1972 in Silicon Valley and has backed tech giants such as Apple, Airbnb, and Zoom. In the mid-2000s, it expanded internationally by setting up funds in China and India. As of 2022, the firm had approximately US$85 billion in assets under management.

See also: Recession Run: Sequoia’s $850m plan during a downturn