Peak XV’s new fund; Sebi’s bond crackdown
Happy Friday! Peak XV Partners is set to raise its new fund, first one after its split from Sequoia US. This and more in today’s ETtech Morning Dispatch.
Also in the letter:
■ On the rise: Coding by AI
■ Tech Mahindra Q4 results
■ Ather’s Esop bonanza
Peak XV Partners is set to raise a fresh $1.2–1.4 billion corpus—its first independent fund since separating from Sequoia Capital in mid-2023, people familiar with the matter told us.
Driving the news: The new fund will focus on early-stage startups across India and Southeast Asia. Peak XV will continue backing later-stage firms through its separate growth fund, which is not part of this raise. Sources added that the firm has started engaging limited partners and expects to close the round by early next year.
Adding context: This will be Peak XV’s ninth fund since it began operations in India in 2006, but its first outside Sequoia’s umbrella. The earlier $2.85 billion fund, announced in 2022 before the split, was reduced by 16% in 2024, largely trimming the growth allocation.
The backdrop: The raise comes amid leadership churn and tighter LP scrutiny. Over the past year, several senior leaders have exited, including managing directors Shailesh Lakhani, Abheek Anand, and Piyush Gupta, along with key executives from marketing, policy, and its Surge programme.
Peak XV is also sharpening its US play. It recently brought on Arnav Sahu, formerly with Y Combinator, as its first San Francisco-based investment partner. The firm has already invested in US-based startups like Atomicwork, Rapid Canvas, and Supabase, many of which are led by Indian-origin founders building cross-border ventures.
By the numbers: Since 2006, Peak XV has raised nearly $9 billion and realised over $6 billion in exits — from IPOs and secondary transactions. Last year alone, it clocked $1.2 billion in exits from companies such as Awfis, Blackbuck, and MamaEarth parent Honasa Consumer. Portfolio companies such as Groww, Meesho, and Zetwerk are preparing for IPOs.
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) is expected to tighten its oversight of the unlisted bond distribution market, following the crisis at all-electric cab-hailing startup BluSmart, according to industry insiders.
Driving the news:
Yes, but:
Also Read: ETtech Explainer: What does Sebi action on platforms selling unlisted bonds mean
Tell me more: Sebi aims to limit retail investor exposure to securitised debt instruments (SDIs). At its December 2024 board meeting, the regulator proposed a minimum investment of Rs 1 crore in SDIs for both regulated and unregulated entities and a cap of 200 subscribers for privately placed SDIs.
Bragging rights in India's startup ecosystem are shifting rapidly—from celebrating funding rounds to showcasing a new metric: the percentage of code written by artificial intelligence (AI).
Saving time: Founders and executives at several Indian startups told us that AI tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude now generate between 40-80% of their codebases, covering everything from early prototypes to production-ready platforms.
These AI agents produce accurate, error-free code, helping teams save time and boost efficiency.
For instance:
Adapting to AI: Industry experts believe AI’s rise will reshape expectations for entry-level engineers. Prasadh MS, head of workforce research at staffing firm Xpheno, commented, "Enterprises will naturally expect young engineers to be pre-equipped to work alongside AI agents as digital colleagues."
ETtech Explainer: Why Zomato’s Goyal is back in the food delivery hot seat: Rakesh Ranjan has stepped down as CEO of Zomato parent Eternal’s food delivery business nearly two years after his elevation. Ranjan has not exited the company entirely and is still part of the leadership team at Eternal, the company informed exchanges.
Tech Mahindra’s fourth quarter net profit soars 76% to Rs 1,167 crore: Tech Mahindra, the IT services arm of the Mahindra Group, reported a 76.5% year-on-year increase in net profit to Rs 1,167 crore, driven by margin expansion and lower tax bill. Sequentially, net profit rose 18.7%.
Ather Energy’s IPO to unlock Rs 530 crore for employees through Esops: Electric two-wheeler maker Ather Energy’s initial public offering, opening on April 28, is set to unlock Rs 530 crore in wealth for over 1,300 employees through its employee stock option plan (Esop).
■ Elon Musk forced back to the boardroom as Doge ‘blowback’ pummels Tesla (FT)
■ The Morgan Stanley star now leading Trump’s invest-in-America push (WSJ)
■ AWS faces backlash over limits on Anthropic’s AI (The Information)
Also in the letter:
■ On the rise: Coding by AI
■ Tech Mahindra Q4 results
■ Ather’s Esop bonanza
Scoop: Peak XV out to raise $1.2 billion fund, its first since Sequoia split
Peak XV Partners is set to raise a fresh $1.2–1.4 billion corpus—its first independent fund since separating from Sequoia Capital in mid-2023, people familiar with the matter told us.
Driving the news: The new fund will focus on early-stage startups across India and Southeast Asia. Peak XV will continue backing later-stage firms through its separate growth fund, which is not part of this raise. Sources added that the firm has started engaging limited partners and expects to close the round by early next year.
Adding context: This will be Peak XV’s ninth fund since it began operations in India in 2006, but its first outside Sequoia’s umbrella. The earlier $2.85 billion fund, announced in 2022 before the split, was reduced by 16% in 2024, largely trimming the growth allocation.
The backdrop: The raise comes amid leadership churn and tighter LP scrutiny. Over the past year, several senior leaders have exited, including managing directors Shailesh Lakhani, Abheek Anand, and Piyush Gupta, along with key executives from marketing, policy, and its Surge programme.
Peak XV is also sharpening its US play. It recently brought on Arnav Sahu, formerly with Y Combinator, as its first San Francisco-based investment partner. The firm has already invested in US-based startups like Atomicwork, Rapid Canvas, and Supabase, many of which are led by Indian-origin founders building cross-border ventures.
By the numbers: Since 2006, Peak XV has raised nearly $9 billion and realised over $6 billion in exits — from IPOs and secondary transactions. Last year alone, it clocked $1.2 billion in exits from companies such as Awfis, Blackbuck, and MamaEarth parent Honasa Consumer. Portfolio companies such as Groww, Meesho, and Zetwerk are preparing for IPOs.
Exclusive: BluSmart crisis likely to draw Sebi heat on unlisted bond market
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) is expected to tighten its oversight of the unlisted bond distribution market, following the crisis at all-electric cab-hailing startup BluSmart, according to industry insiders.
Driving the news:
- BluSmart raised over Rs 100 crore in the past year by issuing unlisted, unsecured corporate bonds to high-net-worth individuals and some retail investors, primarily via fintech platforms such as Yubi, Centricity and Klub.
- Sebi, which views these bonds as high-risk, had already barred AltGraaf, Tap Invest, and Stable Investments from offering unlisted bonds and non-convertible debentures (NCDs) in November 2024.
- Industry executives now expect Sebi to step up scrutiny of how these products are marketed, with potential actions ranging from new guidelines to hefty penalties.
Yes, but:
- Sebi introduced the Online Bond Platform Provider (OBPP) regulations in November 2022 to regulate startups selling fixed-income instruments like corporate bonds to retail investors.
- Platforms such as Wint Wealth, Aspero, Jiraaf, and Grip Invest are regulated OBPPs and are prohibited from dealing with unlisted securities. However, several unregulated platforms continue to offer unlisted stocks and bonds.
Also Read: ETtech Explainer: What does Sebi action on platforms selling unlisted bonds mean
Tell me more: Sebi aims to limit retail investor exposure to securitised debt instruments (SDIs). At its December 2024 board meeting, the regulator proposed a minimum investment of Rs 1 crore in SDIs for both regulated and unregulated entities and a cap of 200 subscribers for privately placed SDIs.
How AI is rewriting the rules of coding at Indian startups
Bragging rights in India's startup ecosystem are shifting rapidly—from celebrating funding rounds to showcasing a new metric: the percentage of code written by artificial intelligence (AI).
Saving time: Founders and executives at several Indian startups told us that AI tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude now generate between 40-80% of their codebases, covering everything from early prototypes to production-ready platforms.
These AI agents produce accurate, error-free code, helping teams save time and boost efficiency.
For instance:
- Kailash Nadh, CTO of Zerodha, said the company uses AI platforms for granular tasks such as auto-completing boilerplate code, sanity checks, and improving code conciseness.
- Sarvam AI, an AI startup, reported that 80-90% of the code in some of its projects is AI-generated.
- Sudip Ghose, founder of luggage firm Uppercase, noted that AI now contributes 50-55% of their codebase.
- Inmobi CEO Naveen Tewari expects to automate 80% of their code writing by the end of the year.
Adapting to AI: Industry experts believe AI’s rise will reshape expectations for entry-level engineers. Prasadh MS, head of workforce research at staffing firm Xpheno, commented, "Enterprises will naturally expect young engineers to be pre-equipped to work alongside AI agents as digital colleagues."
Other Top Stories By Our Reporters
ETtech Explainer: Why Zomato’s Goyal is back in the food delivery hot seat: Rakesh Ranjan has stepped down as CEO of Zomato parent Eternal’s food delivery business nearly two years after his elevation. Ranjan has not exited the company entirely and is still part of the leadership team at Eternal, the company informed exchanges.
Tech Mahindra’s fourth quarter net profit soars 76% to Rs 1,167 crore: Tech Mahindra, the IT services arm of the Mahindra Group, reported a 76.5% year-on-year increase in net profit to Rs 1,167 crore, driven by margin expansion and lower tax bill. Sequentially, net profit rose 18.7%.
Ather Energy’s IPO to unlock Rs 530 crore for employees through Esops: Electric two-wheeler maker Ather Energy’s initial public offering, opening on April 28, is set to unlock Rs 530 crore in wealth for over 1,300 employees through its employee stock option plan (Esop).
Global Picks We Are Reading
■ Elon Musk forced back to the boardroom as Doge ‘blowback’ pummels Tesla (FT)
■ The Morgan Stanley star now leading Trump’s invest-in-America push (WSJ)
■ AWS faces backlash over limits on Anthropic’s AI (The Information)
