Sequoia names 15 startups in Surge’s 7th cohort

Sequoia India and Southeast Asia have named the 15 startups selected for the seventh batch of Surge, the VC firm’s rapid scale-up program.

Half of the participants were on pre-launch mode when they were picked for the 16-week program, which was established in 2019. A third of the startups also have at least one female founder.

Some of the founders in Surge’s latest cohort include ex-Facebook machine learning engineers, Uber’s first engineers in India, and the former CFO of beauty ecommerce firm Nykaa. Some put up their firms right out of college while some are experienced in their field or are second- or third-time entrepreneurs.

Over the past three years, Surge has mentored 281 founders through 127 startups across 16 sectors. These firms have also collectively raised US$1.7 billion in follow-on funding, with over 60% of companies from the first five cohorts raising their series A and above.

Past speakers and mentors for the program include Byju’s co-founder Byju Raveendran, Sequoia Capital managing partner Douglas Leone, Flipkart co-founder Binny Bansal, and Zerodha founder Nithin Kamath.

Here are the startups in Surge’s seventh cohort:

Attentive

Founders: Shiva Dhawan, Rishabjit Singh, and Sarthak Vijay

Based in India, the software-as-a-service startup provides sales automation to landscaping contractors in the US.

Beam

Founders: Mike Chinakrit Piamchon, Nattapat Chaimanowong, and Win Vareekasem

The fintech firm is creating a one-click checkout solution, which simplifies payments for sellers and shoppers in Southeast Asia. Beam is based in Thailand.

Boxs