The departure of three managing directors from Peak XV Partners (formerly Sequoia India) this week is part of a broader wave of senior-level churn sweeping India’s venture capital industry. Data compiled by Longhouse Consulting, a talent advisory firm, shows atleast 16 partner and MD-level exits from VC firms in 2024-2025, along with atleast 15 additional departures at VP, Principal, and C-suite levels.
Peak XV, formerly Sequoia Capital India, accounts for the bulk of the churn, had as many as 15 Partners and Managing Directors until a few months ago. However, a total of eight Partners/MDs have quit the firm in recent months, including three top-level departures earlier this week.
But the exodus extends across the industry. Nexus Venture Partners saw Managing Director Sameer Brij Verma depart in late 2024 to launch Northpoint Capital with a $155 million corpus. Elevation Capital lost partner and COO Vivek Mathur in January last year after a 14-year stint. Kalaari Capital’s venture partner Priyanka Gill exited in February last year to build her own venture. TVS Capital’s managing partner Anuradha Ramachandran and General Catalyst’s venture partner Priya Mohan also stepped down last year.
According to the Longhouse data, firms including Accel, Westbridge Capital, A91 Partners, Stellaris Venture Partners, and Premji Invest reported zero partner-level exits in 2025.
Departures spawning a wave of new fund formation
At least eight funds have been launched or are being raised by departing general partners: Northpoint Capital ($155 million) by Verma; Kenro Capital by Peak XV’s Piyush Gupta; Activate Venture Partners ($75 million) by Haptik co-founder Aakrit Vaish; Boundless Ventures (Rs 200 crore) by former Kae Capital partner Natasha Malpani; AJVC (Rs 100 crore) by former Venture Highway investor Aviral Bhatnagar; Physis Capital (Rs 200 crore); and 247VC (targeting Rs 200 crore) by former 100X.VC partners. Peak XV’s former MDs Shailesh Lakhani and Harshjit Sethi are reportedly raising capital for a deep-tech focused fund, while this week’s departures—Ashish Agrawal, Ishaan Mittal, and Tejeshwi Sharma—are expected to launch their own vehicle.
The implications for the startup ecosystem are significant. Portfolio companies backed by departing partners face a transition period as board seats get reassigned and new partners must build relationships from scratch. Senior exits also tend to trigger departures at lower levels, with outgoing partners often recruiting associates and principals to staff new vehicles. At least 15 senior professionals moved laterally between VC and PE firms since the beginning of 2024. These include Manjot Pahwa moving from Lightspeed to Premji Invest, Nidhi Duggal from Venture Highway to General Catalyst, and Abhirup Sarkar from Omidyar Network to Prana Ventures.
With new funds, the economics of deal-making may shift as well. More funds chasing the same pipeline could compress ownership stakes and inflate early-stage valuations. However, smaller fund sizes—most new vehicles target Rs 100-350 crore versus multi-billion dollar corpuses at established firms—may push emerging managers toward seed and pre-Series A, intensifying competition at the earliest stages while creating a gap at Series B and beyond.
The carry dispute that reportedly triggered this week’s Peak XV exits—linked to Agrawal’s role in the firm’s 75X return on Groww could also be a signal to a recurring challenge. As more Indian startups approach public markets, similar attribution conflicts over outsided outcomes may surface at other firms, analysts said.
Sustained instability at marquee firms
For limited partners, sustained instability at marquee firms could influence how sovereign wealth funds and endowments view India allocation decisions, industry experts said.
The pattern, however, mirrors previous cycles. In 2011, senior executives left Sequoia India to start Westbridge Capital. In 2018, another cohort departed to launch A91 Partners. Both are now among India’s most prominent investors—suggesting the churn may ultimately expand rather than dilute India’s pool of credible growth-stage capital.