Sequoia India closes sixth fund at $695m

LP commitments were not disclosed, but the firm said in a statement that it received “steadfast support” from its existing backers. Fund VI represents a substantial reduction in scale versus its immediate predecessor, which closed at $920 million in 2016 with LP support from ATP Private Equity Partners and a GP commitment of $45 million. 

The new fund will invest early and growth-stage companies in the technology, consumer, and healthcare sectors across India and Southeast Asia. Focus areas will include online brands, software-as-a-service, artificial intelligence (AI), and crypto. Sequoia said the fund’s targeted geographies were set to have a combined GDP of more than $14 trillion and more than $1.5 billion mobile internet users in 2030.

The fundraise coincides with a number of management changes, including the promotion of Abheek Anand to the role of managing director. Anand is a former Facebook executive who has led deals for Sequoia in companies including Indian online grocery marketplace Grofers, Indian financial technology player MoneyTap, and Taiwanese AI developer Appier.

Other staffing changes include the promotion of four vice presidents to the role of principal. 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. Meanwhile, Abhay Pandey, a managing director focused on consumer and healthcare, will step down to independently set up a dedicated sector fund.

Sequoia started its India operation in 2006, raising $400 million for Sequoia Capital India Growth Fund I and merging with WestBridge Capital. Two funds followed in 2007 - a second growth vehicle of $725 million and an early-stage vehicle of $300 million. There was an upheaval between Funds III and IV as the WestBridge founders split from the firm to start their own franchise in 2011.

Fund IV was the vehicle that expanded Sequoia India’s remit to Southeast Asia. The fund initially raised $530 million in 2014 before topping up to $695 million in 2017. At the time, it had reportedly raised as much as $850 million. Fund V’s $920 million corpus in 2016 was said to be the largest-ever vehicle raised by an India-focused VC firm.

Sequoia has made about 200 investments in India and Southeast Asia to date, with recent activity including participation in a $100 million round for cloud business software developer Freshworks. Other investments include mixed martial arts organization One Championship, education technology player Byju’s, and ride-hailing company Go-Jek, which secured a $1.5 billion Series E round earlier this year.

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• Topics
• South Asia
• Southeast Asia
• Consumer
• Healthcare
• Technology
• Fundraising
• Venture
• India
• Sequoia Capital