Peak XV raises $1.3B, doubles down on AI as global VC rivalry in India heats up

Peak XV said Friday that it has raised $1.3 billion across new India- and Asia-focused funds. The venture firm, which manages more than $10 billion in assets, is leaning harder into artificial intelligence and cross-border investing as competition for deals across the region intensifies.

The new capital will be deployed through Peak XV’s India seed and venture funds as well as its broader APAC vehicle. Most of the money is slated for India, and the firm expects to deploy the pool over the next two to three years, managing director Shailendra Singh said in an interview on Friday.

Peak XV separated from Sequoia Capital in 2023 as part of a broader move to split the India-focused portions of Sequoia’s portfolio from the global brand. Today, Peak XV says it has backed more than 450 portfolio companies spanning fintech, software, and consumer internet, with investments ranging from seed to growth.

The fundraising announcement arrives as New Delhi hosts the AI Impact Summit, bringing major tech players — including OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google — to the country. During the event, General Catalyst laid out plans to invest $5 billion in India over the next five years, sharply increasing its earlier commitment to the market.

Singh said Peak XV isn’t aiming to keep pace with competitors on a dollar-for-dollar basis, stressing that the firm’s focus is on returns rather than simply expanding assets under management. He said Peak XV will continue to size its funds based on where it believes it can generate “high-performing funds,” rather than raising the largest possible pools.

He added that Peak XV is still expanding its footprint in the U.S. and is thoughtful about where it chooses to compete. “In the U.S. market, we are an underdog — and that’s great,” Singh said, arguing that the firm is concentrating on areas where its experience in software, developer tools, and fintech gives it a meaningful advantage.

The new raise also follows a stretch of leadership shifts at Peak XV, including the recent exits of senior partner Ashish Agrawal and investors Ishaan Mittal and Tejeshwi Sharma. Singh said the firm still has deep experience at the top, noting that five of its seven managing partners have been with Peak XV for more than a decade. He added that the broader team includes more than 30 full-time investors, with roughly a dozen leading investments across the firm’s markets.

Peak XV has returned more than $7 billion in cash to investors since inception, Singh said, and added that 35 of its portfolio companies have gone public. He did not provide details ondistributions since the 2023 separation from Sequoia Capital.

Before the current raise, Peak XV’s prior fund was initially set at $2.85 billion in late 2021, ahead of the split. Singh said the amount was later reduced to roughly $2.4 billion as part of what he described as a disciplined approach to capital management. That earlier pool included Peak XV’s India growth strategy, and Singh said the firm does not intend to raise another growth fund until more of that existing dry powder has been deployed.

Looking ahead, Singh said the firm expects to deploy the new money primarily into AI, fintech, and consumer startups, while also seeing new opportunities emerging in deep tech. Peak XV has made more than 80 investments in AI startups so far, he said. Singh also pointed to the rising importance of U.S.-India connections as more founders in the region increasingly build products for global markets.