HONG KONG (Reuters) -Global venture capital giant Sequoia announced Tuesday that it is planning to separate its China, and India and Southeast Asia businesses into two independent firms.
The China and India and Southeast Asia businesses will become independent and distinct with separate brands, by March 31, 2024, Sequoia said in a statement signed by managing partners Roelof Botha, China head Neil Shen and India head Shailendra Singh.
The firm’s U.S. and Europe venture business will be Sequoia Capital, after the separation.
The decision comes amid macroeconomic and geopolitical challenges that have made fundraising difficult and eaten into venture funds’ returns.
Investing in China by global investors, in particular, has slowed significantly as the world’s second largest economy grapples with economic woes after pandemic curbs eased and since it tightened regulatory oversight that stymied growth in the technology and internet sectors.
Sequoia China will retain its current Chinese name and adopt the name HongShan in English, while Sequoia India and Southeast Asia will become Peak XV Partners, the firm said.
The firm partnered with local leaders in China and India and Southeast Asia over 15 years ago, according to the statement.
Sequoia China, founded and led by former entrepreneur and investment banker Shen, has invested in over 1,200 companies in technology, consumer and healthcare sectors.
The firm, which raised $9 billion in four funds in 2022, counts social media giant Bytedance, delivery and local services firm Meituan and online fashion retailer PDD Holdings Inc as trophy assets.
Sequoia India is the country’s biggest venture capital firm, managing $9 billion in assets.
Singh and his team raised a $2.5 billion India and Southeast Asia fund last year, its biggest yet.
Some of their biggest investments include food delivery giant Zomato, software firm Freshworks and troubled hotelier Oyo.
(Reporting by Kane Wu and Julie Zhu, and M. Sriram in Mumbai, Editing by Louise Heavens and Bernadette Baum)
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