Sequoia is closing in on making its first deal in India and the broader Asia Pacific region since its split with former partners, according to four sources familiar with the matter.
The investor, one of the world’s largest venture capital firms, is in advanced talks to back Vance, a Bengaluru-based cross-border payments startup, the sources said, requesting anonymity as the deliberation is ongoing and private.
If the deal materializes, it would be the firm’s first since splitting with Sequoia India and Southeast Asia mid-last year. The former Sequoia unit later rebranded as Peak XV Partners.
Sequoia also parted ways with its much-celebrated China unit, run by Neil Shen, amid growing geopolitical tensions between Washington and Beijing. The former China unit has rebranded as HongShan.
All three firms are showing signs of entering one another’s territory.
FT reported earlier this week that HongShan is pursuing deals in Europe and North Asia as it struggles to deploy its $9 billion corpus. Peak XV Partners has meanwhile set up a team in the U.S. and intends to invest in U.S.-based startups, according to separate sources familiar with the company’s plans. The firm invested in an Australian startup last year.
“Our teams in India and China have built spectacular businesses,” Sequoia head Roelof Botha said at a recent Fortune conference. “But the decision to split from India and China units,” Botha said, “is among crucible moments — one or two decisions a year that have enormous outcomes for the company. [It’s] not a decision we can undo two years later and go, ‘Oops, sorry, we should go back to being one firm.’”
Sequoia’s UK team — who are fully part of Sequoia US — has proposed to lead a $30 million to $32 million funding round in Vance, some of the sources said.
Vance, which counts Y Combinator and Hummingbird among its backers, operates a financial services app targeted at Indians living overseas. Through the app, they can send money to family and friends in India and also invest in Indian stocks and mutual funds.
The firm is processing nearly $1 billion in annualize payments, according to one of the sources.
Sequoia and Vance declined to comment Friday.
