Peak XV Partners, earlier known as Sequoia Capital India and Southeast Asia, has whittled down its position as an already prominent venture capital firm in India’s burgeoning startup ecosystem. According to the ASK Private Wealth Hurun India Future Unicorn Index 2024, Peak XV Partners invested heavily in 47 potential unicorns this year, outperforming larger VCs like Accel and Tiger Global. That would indeed prove why this firm shall play a very important role in developing Indian startups—fast tracked, and their growth definitely gives a boost.
PC: Buisness Standard
Peak XV Partners invests in recognizing and incubating startups with high growth potential. It has built a diversified portfolio across various sectors, including firms such as Turtlemint, an insuretech platform; CleverTap, a customer Retention and engagement platform; and Classplus, an EdTech startup. Such investments better bring out the roles Peak XV Partners plays in enabling innovative solutions that have the potential to meet important market demands while scaling up.
After Peak XV Partners comes Accel, with a portfolio of 25 companies that are on the road to becoming unicorns. The more promising investments on Accel’s list include financial services platform Money View, agritech startup Ninjacart, and student housing provider Stanza Living. In absolute terms, Tiger Global, which already has a total of 21 investments in future unicorns, has cut down on the pace of its investments in the past couple of years. The list includes electric vehicle manufacturer Ather Energy, seafood supply chain startup Captain Fresh, and Classplus.
The Hurun India Future Unicorn Index 2024 categorizes these startups under three classes: Unicorns, which are startups valued over $1 billion; Gazelles, likely to become unicorns within three years; and Cheetahs, likely to reach unicorn status within five. This year, it identifed 152 such future unicorns in 31 Indian cities-mostly set up around the year 2015. Software and services dominated the landscape at 82 per cent, while just 18 per cent of these startups sold physical products. Also, 56 per cent of these were consumer-facing companies, while 44 per cent of them sold to businesses.
It also showcases some key angel investors who have bet on these future unicorns. Anand Chandrasekaran from General Catalyst tops the list with 20 investments in what would become Unicorns. Kunal Bahl comes a close second with 11 investments, as Kunal Shah has been part of nine such promising startup journeys. Such investors help in providing early Cheques coupled with required guidance and are therefore paramount in the growth and eventual success of such startups.
FinTech is bound to lead the charge in India’s startup ecosystem; 30 future unicorns are identified in this sector. Consumer lending forms the most prominent FinTech sub-category, contributing more than half of FinTech’s future unicorns. The leading startups include Money View, ranked as the most valuable FinTech Gazelle, and JusPay, at the front of the pack as a FinTech Cheetah. In total, the FinTech startups on the index have raised $5.7 billion in investments, and as a sector, it contributed $11.4 billion to the value of future unicorns, about 20%.
Peak XV Partners being the largest investor in India’s startup ecosystem clearly brings out the strategic acumen of the firm in building its commitment towards innovation. With sizeable investments in prospects-turned-unicorns, this firm is not only fueling individual startups to soar and scale but also contributes to the bigger narrative of India’s economic and technological rise. The role that any venture capital firm such as Peak XV Partners will play in shaping times ahead for Indian entrepreneurship will be important, especially as this startup ecosystem will continue to evolve.
