India’s startup investment space is going through a major change as several senior leaders from Peak XV Partners are leaving to start their own venture capital firms. The biggest development is the launch of Mettle Capital, a new VC firm founded by former Peak XV managing directors Ashish Agrawal, Ishaan Mittal, and Tejeshwi Sharma.
The move comes at a time when Peak XV, earlier known as Sequoia Capital India, is seeing a large leadership reshuffle. Industry experts believe this signals a new trend in India’s venture capital market, where experienced investors are choosing smaller and more focused firms instead of large traditional funds.
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Mettle Capital to Focus on AI, Fintech and Deeptech Startups
Mettle Capital is planning to raise around $350 million to $400 million for its first fund. The founders are already in talks with investors from the US, Europe, and Asia. Most of the money is expected to come from foreign investors, although the firm is also looking at domestic funding opportunities.
The company aims to complete its first fundraising round within the next few months and start investing by September or October 2026. One thing that makes Mettle Capital different is its equal-partnership model. All three founders will share ownership, decision-making power, and profits equally. The structure is inspired by Silicon Valley-based Benchmark Capital and is meant to avoid future conflicts inside the company. The new VC firm will mainly invest in Series A and Series B startups, while also making a few seed-stage investments. Instead of investing in many companies, Mettle Capital plans to make only five or six high-conviction investments every year.
The firm will focus on sectors like enterprise AI, deeptech, fintech, consumer internet, and enterprise software. These areas are currently seeing strong growth in India as more businesses adopt digital and AI-driven solutions. The founders have a strong investment track record. Ashish Agrawal was one of the early investors in Groww, which later became one of Peak XV’s biggest success stories. Ishaan Mittal invested in companies like Razorpay, Mamaearth, and OneCard. Tejeshwi Sharma backed startups including Atlan, CRED, and Whatfix.
Groww Success Reportedly Led to Internal Dispute
The exit of the three investors reportedly happened after internal disagreements at Peak XV over profit sharing and carried interest following the huge success of Groww. Peak XV had invested around Rs 200–250 crore in Groww during its early days. After the company’s stock market listing in late 2025, the value of that investment jumped sharply and reportedly generated more than $1 billion in profits for the VC firm.
The massive returns reportedly created disagreements inside the company over how much reward individual partners should receive for successful deals. According to reports, some leaders believed the success should be treated as an institutional achievement instead of credit going to one investor alone.
Peak XV management reportedly maintained that successful investments happen because of teamwork, platform support, and long-term capital backing. However, the issue eventually led to Ashish Agrawal’s exit, followed by Ishaan Mittal and Tejeshwi Sharma, who had worked closely with him for many years. The exits are part of a larger restructuring at Peak XV after the company separated from Sequoia’s global business in 2023. Since then, more than 35 senior leaders and operating executives have reportedly left the firm.
Smaller VC Firms Gain Momentum in India
Mettle Capital is not the only new venture capital firm created by former Peak XV executives. Earlier, Shailesh Lakhani, Harshjit Sethi, and Mayank Porwal launched Ambition Capital, an early-stage VC fund targeting $250 million. Ambition Capital plans to invest in AI-native software, fintech, deeptech, and startups building on India’s digital infrastructure like UPI and ONDC.
Another former Peak XV managing director, Piyush Gupta, also launched Kenro Capital, a fund focused on late-stage secondary investments. Even after these exits, Peak XV remains one of the largest VC firms in the region. The company recently raised $1.3 billion through multiple new funds for seed-stage, venture-stage, and Asia-Pacific investments. Peak XV currently manages over $10 billion in assets and has investments in more than 450 companies.
Experts say this trend shows that global investors are now focusing more on individual investors with strong track records rather than only backing large VC brands. Smaller funds are also seen as faster and more flexible, allowing them to take bold investment decisions quickly. With India’s startup ecosystem continuing to grow, these new VC firms are expected to play a major role in funding the next wave of AI, fintech, and deeptech startups.