Sequoia launches India seed fund
Sequoia Capital is deepening its focus on early-stage start-ups in India with a new seed fund that will invest separately from its existing vehicles.
According to a regulatory filing, Sequoia Capital India Seed Fund I is intended to close within the next year. Details about the fund’s target size and strategy have not been disclosed.
The seed fund follows the launch earlier this year of Surge, Sequoia’s accelerator program aimed at start-ups that are either based in or targeting India and Southeast Asia. Surge is intended to expand Sequoia’s mandate to support entrepreneurs through the most difficult stages of building a company. It will pick 10-20 start-ups for each biannual cohort that will receive seed investments from Sequoia and mentorship from founders of successful regional start-ups.
Sequoia is also investing its sixth India fund, which closed last year at $695 million. The fund invests in early and growth-stage companies in the technology, consumer, and healthcare sectors across India and Southeast Asia, with a focus on online brands, software-as-a-service, artificial intelligence, and crypto.
Sequoia India launched in 2006 and expanded its remit to Southeast Asia with its fourth fund, which closed at $530 million in 2014 and topped up to $695 million in 2017. The firm reorganized its investment staff in 2017, creating separate teams to focus on venture and growth capital investments similar to the strategy of its China and US affiliates.
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