Peak XV: почему венчурные гиганты ссорятся из-за ИИ

When Sequoia Capital decided to divorce itself from its regional subsidiaries last year, many thought it was merely a legal formality for management convenience. However, reality turned out to be far more dramatic. Peak XV, which inherited Sequoia's Indian and Southeast Asian portfolio, is now undergoing an internal transformation that resembles a tectonic shift more than a planned restructuring. The departure of key partners such as Shailendra Singh and G.V. Ravishankur from their board positions is not simply a rotation of personnel. It is a clear signal that a conflict of visions has been brewing inside the fund, and AI has become the very apple of discord.

Venture capital has always been a game of egos and predictions, but now the stakes have risen to the heavens. Peak XV openly declares that its new strategy is built around artificial intelligence. It seems like a logical step, but the devil is in the implementation details. To truly play in this league, the fund had to step beyond its comfortable Indian market and open an office in San Francisco. This is an acknowledgment of an obvious fact: today you cannot build a global tech empire without direct access to the talent and computational power of Silicon Valley. India remains the fund's largest market, but the center of thinking has inevitably shifted westward.

Disagreements between partners did not arise out of nowhere. While one part of management likely wanted to stick with proven investment models in consumer and SaaS sectors, others insisted on aggressively pouring resources into AI startups. The problem is that AI requires completely different approaches to risk assessment and payback timelines. This is not ten-minute food delivery, where unit economics are clear. Here you are betting on fundamental technologies that can either overturn the world or burn hundreds of millions of dollars with no visible result. It seems the old guard was not ready for such a level of uncertainty.

The move to the US and focus on AI is Peak XV's attempt to reinvent itself. The fund is trying to prove that it is no longer just a regional branch of an old empire, but an independent player of world standing. But this comes at a high price. The loss of people who spent decades building relationships with founders in India could weaken the fund's position on home ground. Competitors like Accel and Lightspeed are just waiting for the moment to seize the initiative while Peak XV is busy setting up offices in San Francisco and searching for new meaning.

The industry is watching this maneuver closely. If Peak XV manages to successfully integrate into the American AI ecosystem while maintaining its influence in India, it will become a unique bridge between the two largest tech hubs in the world. If internal disputes continue, we will see the slow sunset of one of the region's most influential investors. The venture world does not forgive slowness, and in the age of AI time flows several times faster. Either you adapt and change your team composition for new tasks, or you remain in history as a fund that missed the main revolution of the decade.

The key question: Peak XV is betting its reputation and stability on a chance to lead the AI race, but will they have the expertise in the US to compete with the local predators?