Sequoia India closes sixth fund at $695 M, is now India's largest VC firm
Sequoia India has closed its sixth fund at $695 million; the newest fund underscores Sequoia's commitment to India and SEA.
Sequoia India has closed its sixth fund at $695 million to invest in early and growth stage companies in the technology, consumer, and healthcare sectors across India and Southeast Asia. The latest fund makes Sequoia the largest y in India. Sequoia Capital’s total assets under management now stand at $3.9 billion, ahead of SAIF Partners, Nexus Venture Partners, and Accel Partners.
In a statement, the fund's four Managing Directors - Shailendra Singh, Mohit Bhatnagar, GV Ravisankar, Shailesh Lakhani - said, “We are privileged and grateful to have our limited partners' steadfast support over the last 12 years.” The fund size is smaller when compared with the previous one, which was $930 million.
Preferred partner
For Sequoia, the goal is clear: to be the preferred partner for daring founders who want to build legendary companies. Sequoia India has invested every year, in good and bad markets. The newest fund underscores its commitment to India and Southeast Asia, where it has made over 200 investments so far.
Sequoia's investments include Prataap Snacks (which took the IPO route recently), Zilingo, Bira, Byju's, One Championship, Zomato, Mu Sigma, Freshworks, Druva, Freecharge, Five Star Finance, Pine Labs, Go-Jek, GlobalLogic, OYO Rooms, Practo, JustDial, Tokopedia, and many more.
Sequoia believes in partnering with a company in the early stages when its DNA is just beginning to take shape. The partners said: “We intend to double down as we strive to help companies journey from idea to IPO and beyond.”
In 2012, Sequoia India established a presence in Southeast Asia. That early-mover advantage served up some strong opportunities, including investments in Go-Jek, Tokopedia and Traveloka - which now rank among Indonesia's largest unicorns – and regional market leaders like One Championship, Appier and Carousell. SE Asia accounts for 20-30 percent of Sequoia India's investments, by value, and the fund expects that to continue near term.
Focus on talent
The first five funds have seen a steady stream of exits over the last few years. Several portfolio companies have had M&A events, including GlobalLogic, Star Health, Scio Health Analytics, Prizm Payments, Freecharge, Citrus and, others. Multiple companies have also gone public, including Prataap Snacks, JustDial, Ujjivan, Equitas and QuickHeal.
Over the years, Sequoia India has added several young investment advisors to the team and is now promoting some of its staff. Abheek Anand, who joined Sequoia from Facebook, has led investments in Appier, Cuemath, Grofers and MoneyTap, and has been promoted to Managing Director. Abheek will focus on investments in SE Asia. The company has also promoted four VPs to principal roles. Ishaan Mittal and Sakshi Chopra will become Principals in the growth team while Ashish Agarwal and Harshjit Sethi will become Principals in the venture team.
Plenty of potential
The fund's investment opportunities will focus on mobile internet, online brands, enterprise SaaS, AI, crypto, deep tech in healthcare and new-age consumer brands. India and SEA are at an inflection point, and Sequoia believes it is witnessing high quality of new investment opportunities.
In the statement, the four MDs added: “We are excited to think about the potential of our companies over the next many years. This combined region is projected to have GDP of over $14 trillion in 2030 and will likely have over 1.5 billion mobile internet users by then. Many of the up-and-coming startups of today are going to be the category creators and leaders of tomorrow.”
