What’s the news: Global venture capital firm Sequoia will be splitting into three firms Peak XV Partners (representing India and Southeast Asia), Sequoia Capital (representing Europe and US) and HongShan (China), as per announcements on June 6, 2023. According to a note posted on Peak XV Partners’ website by firm leader Shailendra Singh, the three firms “since inception… have been built as separate businesses.” It said that the strategies for each business have diverged, and that has led to brand confusion and portfolio conflict. “This has led the leaders of each business to collectively decide to move to fully independent partnerships with distinct brands, in order to serve our founders and Limited Partners in the best manner,” said Singh. However, experts like The Information Founder Jessica Lessin were skeptical about idea of an 'amicable split.' https://twitter.com/Jessicalessin/status/1666115014087020544 Why it matters: Sequoia is an important brand in the global venture capitalist space. It is known for its investments in firms like Apple, Cisco, Google, Instagram, Zoom, etc. While the company itself may claim that the split is only for namesake, it cannot be ignored that the news comes at a time of geopolitical tension and that it will impact the global venture space. Previous splits from Sequoia: Back in 2011, four founding managing directors of Sequoia Capital India exited the firm to return to their original fund Westbridge Capital Partners. As per the VC Circle, the managing directors wanted to “focus on public equity investing as opposed to the parent Sequoia Capital's focus on…
