At a time when worldwide funding pools are appearing to run dry, Sequoia India and Sequoia Southeast Asia have launched two new funds, including an early-stage venture and growth fund for India worth an impressive $2 billion (roughly Rs. 15,536 crore), and an $850 million (roughly Rs. 6,603 crore) fund for Southeast Asia. The funding is part of the venture firm’s enormous efforts to scale in the South-east Asia (SEA) region. While the funds aren’t particularly set out for crypto, Web 3 startups alone, Sequoia does mention its interest in focussing on the Web 3 ecosystem.
“Today we are pleased to announce the launch of our first dedicated SEA fund, Sequoia SEA Fund I, an $850 million (roughly Rs. 6,603 crore) corpus that we will use to partner with the next generation of founders on a mission to build enduring companies from the region,” the firms said in a blog post.
While observing the emergence of a “thriving” Web 3 ecosystem and new waves of innovation in markets like Vietnam, Philippines, Thailand, and Malaysia, Sequoia Southeast Asia aims to continue to invest actively at the seed, Series A, and growth stages in companies across the regions with the new fund.
The firm is also expanding its focus on newer venues, including Web 3, despite a lack of regulatory clarity — an issue that has been among the primary reasons why most Indian venture capital firms have been reluctant to back crypto startups.
Sequoia India and its Southeast Asia division have invested in a host of Web 3 startups in India already. These include heavyweights like CoinSwitch Kuber and Ethereum layer 2 protocol, Polygon. However, these investments have been in the lower ranges, given the size of the funds.
The previous two years have seen Sequoia India engage with three additional funds, including March 2021’s seed funding round for India which generated $195 million (roughly Rs. 1,515 crore), and July 2020’s two growth and venture rounds; collectively worth $1.3 billion (roughly Rs. 10,100 crore).
