Sequoia Capital is in advanced discussions to invest in Bangalore-based fintech startup Vance
If the deal goes through, it would be Sequoia Capital’s first investment in an Indian startup since splitting its India and Southeast Asia operations.
Founded in 2022, Vance offers non-resident Indians a neobanking platform through which they can make cross-border payments in India
More than a year after the split of its Indian entity, the venture capital company Sequoia Capital is reportedly considering a return to Indian soil.
The California-based venture capital firm is in advanced discussions to invest in Bengaluru-based fintech startup Vance, TechCrunch reported, citing sources.
Inc42 reached out to Vance for more details on the fundraising negotiations. The story will be updated when a response is received.
If the deal goes through, it would be Sequoia Capital’s first investment in an Indian startup since split its activities in India and Southeast Asia operations and renamed it Peak XV Partners. The company’s operations in China were also spun off and renamed HongShan.
Sequoia Capital India has invested in leading startups such as Zomato, BYJU’S, Ola, Meesho, CRED, Honasa Consumer, among others, before being demerged and renamed Peak XV Partners. At the time of the separation, it had a portfolio of more than $9.2 billion across 13 funds as of June 2023.
From this investment portfolio, Peak XV made nearly $1.2 billion from releases during the 15 months following the separation.
Sequoia Capital, operational for over five decades, has made notable investments in technology companies like Google, Apple, Nvidia, Cisco, YouTube, WhatsApp.
Vance, Sequoia Capital’s ticket back to India, founded in 2022, is a Bangalore-based startup that provides non-resident Indians (NRIs) with a neobanking platform through which they can make cross-border payments in India.
It also allows users to invest in India-based mutual funds through its app. Vance claims that over 2.5 Lakh NRIs use its platform and have transferred over $1 billion in annualized capital from the UK and UAE to India so far.
The latest startup $5.8 million raised in its seed round led by Hummingbird Ventures in October 2022. Global Founders Capital, Y Combinator, Soma Capital and angel investors Alan Rutledge and Gokul Rajaram also participated in the round.
Note: The story has been edited to update Vance’s customer number and annualized value of the transaction.