Two new funds, a $2 billion early-stage, venture and growth fund for India and an $850 million dedicated fund for Southeast Asia, have been launched by Sequoia India and Southeast Asia.
The 50-year-old venture firm in India has made a lot of money in the last 16 years. Nine of the firm's portfolio startups, including Freshworks, GoJek and Truecaller, have gone public in the past 18 months, a figure not seen in the region before.
According to an analysis, the public listings have delivered Sequoia India and Southeast Asia, which has raised three additional funds including a $525 million venture fund and a $825 million growth fund in the past two years.
At a time when markets are starting to cool after a long bull run, this fundraise shows our deep commitment to the region and our faith in the long-term growth story of India and Southeast Asia.
Surge, through which it backs very early-stage firms, is one of the programs the firm intends to double down on.
quoia was the pioneer of the modern venture firm. Sajith Pai is an investor at India-based venture firm that focuses on early-stage deals.
Even as they consolidate their leadership in the space, they have pushed the boundaries of the venture capital model with innovations such as the Scout program.
Southeast Asia and India are the most prolific investors in the region. The Surge program was launched three years ago and has grown to 112 companies. In India, about three dozen of the 100 odd startups have become unicorns.
The new funds, the largest of their kind in the region, closed at a good time. Scores of startup are struggling to raise funds as investors look at the market differently. Sequoia, which recently advised its founders to bring more discipline, has been sounding the alarm for a while.
market sentiment changes faster than startups can change operations, cost structures or monetization levers
Looking forward to a much needed correction in startup funding environment; thankfully, conversations are back to focusing on revenues, products, unit economics, saving $
— Shailendra J Singh (@singh_sequoia) January 21, 2022
The firm, whose portfolio includes social commerce startup Meesho, payments giant Razorpay, fintech giant CRED, and edtech giants Byju's and Unacademy, will continue to focus on sectors such asSaaS and fintech that it has traditionally operated in. When you look at the cap tables of some of the largest Indian firms, you can see that most Indian venture capital firms were initially slow and hesitant in their support ofcryptocurrencies.
Several web3 entrepreneurs said that Sequoia India and Southeast Asia has gained street cred in the hot new category in the past two years. The firm has demonstrated multiple times that it doesn't sell the firms' token as soon as their vesting period ends.
The startup and venture capital scene in India and Southeast Asia will continue to grow. With markets, valuations and velocity will change. There is value creation in terms of revenue growth, profitability and free cash flow that is based on real innovation, excellence in execution and a focus on customers.
Three of Sequoia India and Southeast Asia's portfolio startup have grappled with governance issues. A founder was found to be in violation of the board's rules. Both Singapore-based Zilingo and India's Trell found the same problem.
According to people familiar with the matter, in at least two of the incidents, the founder was held to account by the whistle blower. In a post published earlier this year, Sequoia promised to continue to take proactive steps to drive better accountability, along with improving performance, for us to unlocks the full potential this region has to offer.
The partner at Good Capital, an early-stage fund, said it was great to see a large dedicated fund for India raised by Sequoia. It is a testament to the opportunity that globalLP's and managers see in India.
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