Peak XV Partners confirmed that three partners left the firm following internal disagreements, the latest in a string of senior departures as India's largest VC pivots toward AI investing.
Ashish Agrawal (13-year veteran), Ishaan Mittal (9 years), and Tejeshwi Sharma (7 years) are departing to start their own firm. Managing Director Shailendra Singh told TechCrunch the split stemmed from disagreement with Agrawal but declined to specify details, calling such exits "not uncommon" at multi-stage firms.
The pattern matters. Since August 2024, Peak XV has lost managing directors Shailesh Lakhani (17 years, led exits including Minimalist's $350M sale), Abheek Anand (Southeast Asia co-lead), Harshjit Sethi (AI lead, 10-year tenure), plus Piyush Gupta and Anandamoy Roychowdhary. Multiple junior investors and executives have also departed.
This comes as the firm, formerly Sequoia Capital India before splitting in mid-2023 due to U.S.-China tensions, doubles down on AI. Peak XV promoted 12 general partners recently, which sources say created frustrations over unclear advancement paths. In October 2025, it cut its fund to $2.4 billion (down from ~$2.8B) and reduced LP fees amid cooling Indian valuations.
Singh said board transitions would happen "imminently" with overlapping coverage already in place. The firm has $1.5 billion in realized exits since 2024 and upcoming IPOs from Groww, Pine Labs, and Meesho.
Agrawal led investments in Groww (fintech preparing to IPO), consumer brands, and software during his tenure. He wrote on LinkedIn he was taking "the entrepreneurial plunge" with his former colleagues.
The question: Whether this represents normal VC partnership evolution or signals deeper challenges in how established firms handle aggressive AI pivots. Peak XV's strong portfolio performance suggests the former. The departure rate suggests it's not that simple.
Worth noting: Most large VC firms haven't publicly addressed partner exits tied to AI strategy shifts. Peak XV's acknowledgment of "disagreement" is unusually direct. The firm declined to elaborate on whether the dispute centered on AI focus, investment pace, or firm direction.