Read the top tech and startup stories to begin your day
Happy Wednesday! Shailendra Singh says three high-profile MDs left Peak XV Partners over “disagreements”. This and more in today’s ET Morning Dispatch.
Also in the letter:
■ Unicorn India’s Rs1.2k cr raise
■ Fractal cuts IPO size
■ Dhan, Nazara earnings
Three MDs at Peak XV Partners depart to launch new fund amid heightened VC churn
(L-R) Ishaan Mittal, Ashish Agrawal and Tejeshwi Sharma at The ET Startup Awards 2025 in Bengaluru
Ashish Agrawal, Ishaan Mittal and Tejeshwi Sharma have quit Peak XV to launch their new fund, the latest in a series of senior exits since the firm split from Sequoia Capital in 2023.
Managing director Shailendra Singh told ETtech that the departures stemmed from “disagreements” over economics and payouts, insisting the firm was “completely comfortable” with the decision.
Singh said, “Our economic system is fair and generous, but as a firm evolves, every institution eventually requires people to put the institution above themselves.”
Tell me more: According to people aware of the matter, the departure of the three partners was finalised over the last 7-8 days, starting with Agrawal’s exit.
Agarwal’s big win at Peak XV came with Groww’s public listing in November last year. The fund holds a 17% stake, valued at about $2 billion as of Tuesday.
Also Read: ET Startup Awards 2025 | Midas Touch: Ashish Agrawal’s golden touch seems to Groww and thrive
Disagreement over economics behind latest Peak XV exits: Shailendra Singh
Peak XV Partners managing director Shailendra Singh
Read the full Q&A with Singh here .
The trio collectively held board seats across roughly 40 portfolio companies.
Between the lines: Singh pitched the departures as a natural result of a high-agency, entrepreneurial culture where senior investors often go solo. He also hinted at a leaner structure ahead, with Peak XV targeting seven to eight general partners.
Who’s in charge now: The firm has promoted Abhishek Mohan to managing director and appointed Saipriya Sarangan as chief operating officer. Veteran partners, including Singh, GV Ravishankar, Rajan Anandan and Sakshi Chopra, remain.
Also Read: Indian VCs go independent amid wider churn in early-stage investing
Tell me more: The departures add to a rough stretch for the early-stage investing industry. In the past year, Peak XV has also seen partners Shailesh Lakhani, Abheek Anand, and Harshjit Sethi leave. All of this comes amid Peak XV being in talks to raise its first independent fund since splitting from Sequoia Capital in 2023, targeting a corpus of $1.2-1.4 billion, as reported by ET.
Also Read: As VC exits pile up, 2026 will test fundraising prospects of independent funds
Industry hails Budget’s targeted carve-out for inbound global talent
The Budget announced a new tax exemption aimed at luring global talent to India’s growing electronics and semiconductor sectors, a move the industry has long advocated.
What’s happening?
Experts’ view:
Also Read: Tax ‘edge’ for foreign firms puts local data centre companies on edge
WestBridge Capital leads $45 million raise in climatetech Varaha
Sandeep Singhal, cofounder and managing partner at WestBridge Capital
Venture capital firm WestBridge Capital has made its first climatetech investment by leading a $45 million funding round in startup Varaha, its cofounder and managing partner Sandeep Singhal told ET.
Funding details: The funding will be released in two tranches, starting with $20 million.
Founded in 2022 by Madhur Jain, Ankita Garg and Vishal Kuchanur, Varaha runs farm-based projects that remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and turn it into verified carbon credits for companies.
Quote, unquote: Explaining the firm’s climatetech debut, Singhal said, “In climate tech so far, while several investments have been made, very few companies have scaled to a level where they can absorb the kind of capital and opportunity we typically invest behind. Varaha is probably the first, or among the first, companies in India to reach that stage, where it can now attract large, mainstream capital.”
Unicorn India closes its third fund at Rs 1,200 crore
Deeptech-focused Unicorn India Ventures has wrapped up its third fund at Rs 1,200 crore, exceeding its original Rs 1,000-crore target, with a sharp focus on semiconductors, spacetech, and AI infrastructure.
Vote of confidence: The fund is betting on two major shifts in India’s deeptech landscape. “We are seeing academicians becoming cofounders, bringing far more technology rigour,” founder and managing partner Bhaskar Majumdar told ET.
He also flagged a steady flow of senior researchers returning from the US. In defence and military tech, many hit a glass ceiling without US citizenship, pushing talent back home, he said.
Other Top Stories By Our Reporters
Fractal Analytics cofounder Srikanth Velamakanni
Fractal Analytics shrinks IPO size to Rs 2,834 crore: Fractal Analytics has reduced the IPO size to Rs 2,833.9 crore, a 42% decline from Rs 4,900 crore it proposed earlier, with the company planning to list on February 16, according to the red herring prospectus the company filed on February 2.
Dhan’s profit jumps 2.5 times to Rs 408 crore, revenue up 2.3X: Mumbai-based stockbroking startup Dhan has reported a net profit of Rs 408 crore in the financial year 2025, up 156% from Rs 159 crore a year back. Its operating revenue grew 2.3 times to Rs 876 crore from Rs 370 crore a year earlier, driven by strong momentum in the stockbroking space.
Nazara Technologies Q3 FY26 revenue dips:Gaming and media firm Nazara Technologies reported a 24% year-on-year (YoY) decline in operating revenue for the third quarter of the current fiscal to Rs 405.9 crore, while its net profit fell 35% to Rs 8.8 crore.
SC pulls up Meta, WhatsApp over 2021 privacy policy: Issuing a stern warning to instant messaging platform WhatsApp and its parent company Meta Platforms against sharing users’ private data for targeted advertising, the Supreme Court on Tuesday said it will not allow them to play with the right to privacy of millions of their “silent consumers” in India through the sharing and commercial exploitation of personal data.
Global Picks We Are Reading
■ AI 'slop' is transforming social media - and a backlash is brewing ( BBC)
■ Microbes could extract the metal needed for cleantech ( MIT Technology Review)
■ OpenAI’s ChatGPT push triggers senior staff exits ( FT)
Also in the letter:
■ Unicorn India’s Rs1.2k cr raise
■ Fractal cuts IPO size
■ Dhan, Nazara earnings
Three MDs at Peak XV Partners depart to launch new fund amid heightened VC churn
Ashish Agrawal, Ishaan Mittal and Tejeshwi Sharma have quit Peak XV to launch their new fund, the latest in a series of senior exits since the firm split from Sequoia Capital in 2023.
Managing director Shailendra Singh told ETtech that the departures stemmed from “disagreements” over economics and payouts, insisting the firm was “completely comfortable” with the decision.
Singh said, “Our economic system is fair and generous, but as a firm evolves, every institution eventually requires people to put the institution above themselves.”
Tell me more: According to people aware of the matter, the departure of the three partners was finalised over the last 7-8 days, starting with Agrawal’s exit.
Agarwal’s big win at Peak XV came with Groww’s public listing in November last year. The fund holds a 17% stake, valued at about $2 billion as of Tuesday.
Also Read: ET Startup Awards 2025 | Midas Touch: Ashish Agrawal’s golden touch seems to Groww and thrive
Disagreement over economics behind latest Peak XV exits: Shailendra Singh
Read the full Q&A with Singh here .
The trio collectively held board seats across roughly 40 portfolio companies.
Between the lines: Singh pitched the departures as a natural result of a high-agency, entrepreneurial culture where senior investors often go solo. He also hinted at a leaner structure ahead, with Peak XV targeting seven to eight general partners.
Who’s in charge now: The firm has promoted Abhishek Mohan to managing director and appointed Saipriya Sarangan as chief operating officer. Veteran partners, including Singh, GV Ravishankar, Rajan Anandan and Sakshi Chopra, remain.
Also Read: Indian VCs go independent amid wider churn in early-stage investing
Tell me more: The departures add to a rough stretch for the early-stage investing industry. In the past year, Peak XV has also seen partners Shailesh Lakhani, Abheek Anand, and Harshjit Sethi leave. All of this comes amid Peak XV being in talks to raise its first independent fund since splitting from Sequoia Capital in 2023, targeting a corpus of $1.2-1.4 billion, as reported by ET.
Also Read: As VC exits pile up, 2026 will test fundraising prospects of independent funds
Industry hails Budget’s targeted carve-out for inbound global talent
The Budget announced a new tax exemption aimed at luring global talent to India’s growing electronics and semiconductor sectors, a move the industry has long advocated.
What’s happening?
- The Budget has carved out a targeted exemption for overseas professionals working under government-notified schemes.
- Non-resident individuals will enjoy a five-year break on income earned outside India, a sweetener designed to make longer assignments in the country more appealing for foreign specialists.
Experts’ view:
- Navnit Singh, Korn Ferry said that the move plugs a long-standing gap in advanced tech talent and should cut through the double taxation hurdle that has kept many foreign professionals at bay.
- Hirak Mukhopadhyay, Khaitan & Co added that the exemption kicks in from the year an individual first arrives in India, provided they were non-resident for the prior five years. Foreign income stays tax-free during this window, but Indian-sourced income remains fully taxable, he clarified.
Also Read: Tax ‘edge’ for foreign firms puts local data centre companies on edge
WestBridge Capital leads $45 million raise in climatetech Varaha
Venture capital firm WestBridge Capital has made its first climatetech investment by leading a $45 million funding round in startup Varaha, its cofounder and managing partner Sandeep Singhal told ET
Funding details: The funding will be released in two tranches, starting with $20 million.
Founded in 2022 by Madhur Jain, Ankita Garg and Vishal Kuchanur, Varaha runs farm-based projects that remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and turn it into verified carbon credits for companies.
Quote, unquote: Explaining the firm’s climatetech debut, Singhal said, “In climate tech so far, while several investments have been made, very few companies have scaled to a level where they can absorb the kind of capital and opportunity we typically invest behind. Varaha is probably the first, or among the first, companies in India to reach that stage, where it can now attract large, mainstream capital.”
Unicorn India closes its third fund at Rs 1,200 crore
Deeptech-focused Unicorn India Ventures has wrapped up its third fund at Rs 1,200 crore, exceeding its original Rs 1,000-crore target, with a sharp focus on semiconductors, spacetech, and AI infrastructure.
Vote of confidence: The fund is betting on two major shifts in India’s deeptech landscape. “We are seeing academicians becoming cofounders, bringing far more technology rigour,” founder and managing partner Bhaskar Majumdar told ET.
He also flagged a steady flow of senior researchers returning from the US. In defence and military tech, many hit a glass ceiling without US citizenship, pushing talent back home, he said.
Other Top Stories By Our Reporters
Fractal Analytics shrinks IPO size to Rs 2,834 crore: Fractal Analytics has reduced the IPO size to Rs 2,833.9 crore, a 42% decline from Rs 4,900 crore it proposed earlier, with the company planning to list on February 16, according to the red herring prospectus the company filed on February 2.
Dhan’s profit jumps 2.5 times to Rs 408 crore, revenue up 2.3X: Mumbai-based stockbroking startup Dhan has reported a net profit of Rs 408 crore in the financial year 2025, up 156% from Rs 159 crore a year back. Its operating revenue grew 2.3 times to Rs 876 crore from Rs 370 crore a year earlier, driven by strong momentum in the stockbroking space.
Nazara Technologies Q3 FY26 revenue dips:
SC pulls up Meta, WhatsApp over 2021 privacy policy: Issuing a stern warning to instant messaging platform WhatsApp and its parent company Meta Platforms against sharing users’ private data for targeted advertising, the Supreme Court on Tuesday said it will not allow them to play with the right to privacy of millions of their “silent consumers” in India through the sharing and commercial exploitation of personal data.
■ AI 'slop' is transforming social media - and a backlash is brewing ( BBC)
■ Microbes could extract the metal needed for cleantech ( MIT Technology Review)
■ OpenAI’s ChatGPT push triggers senior staff exits ( FT)
Next Story