Peak XV: The Best Year, the Hardest Year

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Peak XV: The Best Year, the Hardest Year

Peak XV — India’s largest venture capital firm, formerly Sequoia India, is staring at its best year ever. IPOs from portfolio stars like Groww, Pine Labs, and Meesho could deliver a $2 billion payday, on top of $1.5 billion in exits since 2024. For a firm long accused of weak distributions, that looks like redemption.

On the other hand, the champagne bottles are gathering dust. Partners are leaving. Nearly 20 senior names — investors, marketing leads, policy heads — have walked out since the 2023 rebrand. And last week came the biggest blow: Harshjit Sethi, the partner who spearheaded Peak XV’s artificial intelligence bets, resigned. His exit follows close on the heels of veterans like Shailesh Lakhani and Abhik Anand.

The story of Peak XV is no longer just about investments and returns. It’s about power struggles, ambition, and the painful process of reinvention.

Let’s step back. Peak XV has been around for two decades, investing more than $9 billion into Indian startups. But for most of that time, the results were underwhelming.

Indian venture returns historically hover around 1–1.5x — a far cry from Sequoia US’s legendary 5–10x. Peak XV delivered headlines, not distributions. Its biggest wins came with caveats.

Take Oyo: the firm made half a billion dollars, but only because SoftBank’s Masayoshi Son overpaid at the peak. Today Oyo is a shadow of its $10 billion valuation. Byju’s — once the poster child of Indian edtech — is now a corporate embarrassment. Peak XV booked profits, but the fallout scarred the entire ecosystem.

Even Pine Labs, considered its crown jewel, reveals the challenge. After 17 years, it’s still waiting for a true payday. A $300 million IPO is finally on the horizon, but to deliver a solid 20% internal rate of return, Peak XV would need closer to a 40x multiple. So far, it has taken home just around $650 million.

That’s the Indian venture paradox: even the “good” exits feel short.

The Fee Problem

Meanwhile, Peak XV charged its investors premium fees — 2.5% of committed capital, in line with Sequoia US. After the 2023 split, it cut fees to 2%. That appeased restless limited partners but squeezed the firm’s own economics.

As older funds age out, fee income shrinks. Partner salaries start to feel heavy. Suddenly, a structure built for growth begins to look bloated. Too many partners, not enough unicorns.

That’s the backdrop against which recent exits have unfolded.

Turf Wars and Departures

When Peak XV raised a $2.8 billion fund in 2022, it also promoted five new general partners, bringing the total to 12. The idea was to build a multi-stage, multi-geography platform.

But in practice, it bred frustration. Younger investors saw no path upward. Credit in venture is a zero-sum game — who sourced the deal, who pushed it through, who gets the carry? On paper, the culture is collaborative. In reality, turf wars fester.

The old guard — Shailendra Singh, G.V. Ravishankar, and Mohit Bhatnagar — still sit on every investment committee. They earn more from older funds that continue to pay out. That power imbalance has sharpened over time.

So when respected veterans like Shailesh Lakhani quit after 17 years — walking away with around $800 million in exits and a clean reputation — it hit hard. Lakhani reportedly disagreed with Peak XV’s global AI ambitions. After a Vipassana retreat, he decided to leave.

Now, Sethi’s resignation is even more symbolic. He wasn’t just another partner — he was the point man for AI bets like Sarvam and BharatPe. At the very moment Peak XV is trying to prove it can compete globally in AI, losing its lead AI partner sends a troubling signal.

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The Global Gambit

Because Peak XV is no longer just an India story. It wants to go global.

For the first time, the firm can invest directly in Silicon Valley. Over the past two years, it has backed nearly 50 AI startups — sometimes small checks to stay on the cap table, sometimes bigger bets like Superbase’s $80 million Series C.

But this is not Bangalore. In the Valley, rounds close in hours, not months. Startups scale to $100 million in revenue in two years, not ten. Peak XV, used to playing the long game in India, finds itself scrambling.

It has built a small team in the US. Shailendra Singh spends significant time there, reportedly even buying a home. It has hired names like Jamie Bott, Sequoia’s former star recruiter.

Yet against heavyweights like Khosla Ventures, a16z, and Lightspeed, Peak XV often finds itself waiting in line for meetings. In some cases, it has missed out entirely — as with Composio, a buzzy AI startup that raised without them.

The Identity Crisis

This tension defines Peak XV today. On one side: a historic opportunity to finally deliver big returns with a wave of IPOs. On the other: an exodus of talent and a risky pivot toward global AI investing.

The irony is sharp. Just when Peak XV is on the brink of its best financial year, it is also confronting its worst internal turbulence.

The bigger question is existential: can Peak XV become India’s first true global venture fund? Or will it lose the identity that made it the country’s most powerful VC in the first place?

Because survival in venture is not just about multiples. It’s about timing, reputation, and the stories you tell.

And right now, Peak XV’s story is being rewritten — in India, in Silicon Valley, and inside its own offices.

Interested in learning more about VC ecosystem? Check out our previous coverage here:

• What Is Venture Capital Now Anyway?

• India’s Venture Capital Resurgence: A Year of Growth, Innovation, and Shifting Priorities

• How venture capital has changed since the pandemic gold rush?

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Peeyush and Mohit

Disclaimer: The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in the text belong solely to the author, and not necessarily to the author's employer, organization, committee or other group or individual.