In the latest senior-level departure from Peak XV Partners, one of India and Southeast Asia’s largest venture capital firms, longtime investor Shraeyansh Thakur has exited after nine years with the firm.
Without providing further details, Thakur announced he is leaving to embark on an entrepreneurial journey, adding to a string of high-profile exits from Peak XV in recent months.
Thakur’s departure comes at a pivotal moment for Peak XV, as the firm struggles with multiple senior-level exits. Just last month, two more managing directors, Shailesh Lakhani and Abheek Anand, announced their exits.
Earlier in 2024, Piyush Gupta, a former managing director, left to launch Kenro Capital, a fund focused on secondhand stakes in late-stage startups. Anandamoy Roychowdhary, a Surge partner, also departed after more than 11 years at Peak XV, while Shweta Rajpal Kohli, its chief public policy communications officer, stepped down in September to establish the Startup Policy Forum, an industry advocacy group for new-age companies.
The leadership changes come less than a year after Peak XV announced a 16% reduction in the size of its $2.85-billion fund, citing inflated valuations in an overheated public market. This strategy shift followed the 2023 split into three independent entities—Peak XV Partners, focused on India & Southeast Asia; China-focused HongShan; and Sequoia Capital targeting the US and Europe. Peak XV is based in Singapore and India.
Peak XV, with offices in Singapore and India, also adjusted its fee structure, reducing the management fee for limited partners (LPs) from 2.5% to 2% and cutting the carry (profits from exits) on its growth investments from 30% to 20%, sources told DealStreetAsia.
Despite these internal changes, Peak XV has recently increased its exposure to US-based AI startups. In December, the firm participated in a $20.8-million Series A round for Enterpret, led by Canaan Partners; and invested in RapidCanvas, a B2B AI platform that raised $16 million. Most recently, Peak XV led a $19-million Series A round for TrueFoundry, a US-based AI deployment and scaling platform.
