Sequoia is close to closing its first deal in India and the broader Asia-Pacific region since parting ways with its former partner, four people familiar with the matter said.
The investor, one of the world's largest venture capital firms, is in talks to back Bangalore-based cross-border payments startup Vance, the people said. The person requested anonymity because the deliberations are ongoing and private.
If this partnership goes ahead, it would be the company's first since it ended its alliances with Sequoia India and Southeast Asia in the middle of last year. The former Sequoia division was later rebranded as Peak XV Partners.
Sequoia also parted ways with its well-regarded China division, run by Neil Shen, amid heightened geopolitical tensions between Washington and China. The former China division was rebranded as HongShan.
All three companies are showing signs of moving into each other's space.
The FT reported earlier this week that HongShan is pursuing deals in Europe and North Asia as it struggles to deploy its $9 billion in assets. Peak XV Partners intends to establish a team in the U.S. and invest in U.S.-based startups, another source familiar with the company's plans said. The company invested in an Australian startup last year.
“Our teams in India and China have built a great business,” Sequoia chief Roelof Botha said at a recent Fortune conference. But Botha said the decision to separate from the India and China divisions was “one of those critical moments that you make once or twice a year that have huge consequences for the company.” [It’s] It's not a decision that you can rescind two years later and say, “It's too bad. I should go back to one company.'' ”
Sequoia's UK team, a wholly owned subsidiary of Sequoia US, is proposing to lead a $30 million to $32 million funding round in Vance, some of the people said.
Vance, which counts Y Combinator and Hummingbird among its backers, runs a financial services app aimed at Indians living abroad. Through this app, you can send money to family and friends in India and invest in Indian stocks and mutual funds.
The company processes nearly $1 billion in payments annually, one of the people said.
Mr. Sequoia and Mr. Vance declined to comment Friday.