Peak XV Loses Three Senior Investors as Veteran Trio Spins Out

Peak XV Partners is seeing fresh senior-level departures, with Ashish Agrawal, Ishaan Mittal and Tejeshwi Sharma exiting the venture capital firm to start a new investment platform of their own, extending a broader reshuffle among long-serving leaders at the firm.

In a LinkedIn post announcing the move, Agrawal said he had decided to “take the entrepreneurial plunge” after more than 13 years at Peak XV, formerly Sequoia Capital India and Southeast Asia.

“After 13 years at Peak XV Partners or Sequoia Capital India, I have decided to take the entrepreneurial plunge,” he wrote, adding that he would be building a new firm alongside Mittal and Sharma.

Peak XV confirmed the exits, saying it had “mutually decided to part ways with Ashish Agrawal” following discussions on what would best serve the firm’s long-term interests and those of its limited partners. The firm said the decision was taken “after thoughtful consideration and discussion.”

In a post on X, Sharma described the move as a long-planned step, saying he was leaving Peak XV to “pursue the biggest dream of my life” by building a new venture capital firm with Agrawal and Mittal.

The trio has worked together for more than a decade and is now preparing to launch a new investment vehicle.

Each of the departing partners oversaw sizeable portfolios.

Agrawal focused on venture-stage investments in fintech and consumer companies, including Groww. Mittal, a senior investor on the growth side, backed companies such as Mamaearth and Razorpay across consumer and fintech sectors. Sharma worked primarily on SaaS and fintech investments, including Cred and Whatfix.

As part of the transition, Peak XV promoted Abhishek Mohan to managing director and general partner from principal on the venture team.

Mohan joined the firm in 2018 and has worked on investments including Whole Truth and Mokobara. Saipriya Sarangan was also elevated to chief operating officer, moving up from her earlier role as chief people officer.

The latest departures add to a growing list of senior Peak XV veterans who have chosen to strike out independently.

Former managing directors Shailesh Lakhani and Harshjit Sethi stepped down last year and are setting up an early-stage fund.

In 2024, former managing director Piyush Gupta launched Kenro Capital, focused on late-stage secondary deals. Other senior investors, including Abheek Anand and Anandamoy Roychowdhary, have also left the firm in recent years.

Peak XV said it remains “deeply committed to the Indian venture ecosystem,” pointing to its two-decade track record of backing hundreds of founders and seeing 36 portfolio companies go public.

The firm added that the latest changes are intended to create room for “AI-native investors” as it adapts to a new phase of technological disruption, while maintaining its focus on founders and limited partners.

Following the exits, the firm’s remaining senior leadership includes Shailendra J. Singh, Rajan Anandan, Mohit Bhatnagar, Sakshi Chopra, G.V. Ravishankar, Rohit Agarwal and Arnav Sahu.