Peak XV Partners, one of India and Southeast Asia’s largest venture capital firms, has seen another senior-level exit, with managing director Harshjit Sethi stepping down after a decade at the firm.
Without providing further details, Sethi said he has “decided to leave the firm and explore a new innings.”
His departure adds to a series of senior-level exits from Peak XV in the past two years. The firm has seen the departures of managing directors Abheek Anand, Shailesh Lakhani, and Piyush Gupta, alongside long-serving professionals across marketing, human resources, its Surge programme, and investment operations. In March, investor Shraeyansh Thakur also moved on after nine years with the firm.
In the past year, Peak XV also reduced the size of its flagship India and Southeast Asia fund by 16%, lowered management fees from 2.5% to 2%, and cut carry from 30% to 20%, for better alignment with limited partners (LPs) amid a tougher fundraising environment.
In an interaction with DealStreetAsia in July, managing director Shailendra Singh described the recent leadership changes as part of the natural evolution of a long-term investment platform.
“In any long-term firm, transitions are inevitable and this business is about having a team focused on future opportunity areas. We’re happy that some of our senior team members have gone on to start their own ventures: that speaks of the culture of entrepreneurship we’ve always encouraged,” Singh said.
These developments come after Sequoia Capital’s 2023 restructuring into three independent entities — Peak XV Partners, focused on India and Southeast Asia; HongShan in China; and Sequoia Capital for the US and Europe. Peak XV maintains bases in Singapore and India.
Alongside the departures, the firm has also expanded its international presence. It has added operating leaders and back-office staff in the US, including revenue specialist Dini Mehta, former Sequoia partner Jaime Bott, and ex-Cloudflare executive Chris Merritt. Former Y Combinator investor Arnav Sahu also joined as a partner in its San Francisco office.
Peak XV is simultaneously refining its investment strategy with a greater focus on artificial intelligence (AI).
Recent AI bets include enterprise tool RapidCanvas; customer feedback platform Enterpret; dental practice management software Abita Health; semiconductor manufacturing startup SixSense; and Bengaluru-based Metaforms, which applies AI to market research.
Some of the firm’s portfolio companies have faced challenges in recent years. Since 2022, Indian startups such as BYJU’s, BharatPe, GoMechanic, Mojocare, and Trell have encountered governance- or compliance-related issues. In Southeast Asia, Zilingo was wound down following governance concerns and board disputes, while Indonesian unicorn eFishery faced scrutiny over financial reporting.
