Global venture capital and growth investor Sequoia Capital has announced the launch of two new funds – a $2 billion early-stage venture, and growth product for India as well as an $850 million dedicated one for Southeast Asia. The focus will also be on the Web3 ecosystem.

• Sequoia has ambitious plans for the region and aims to “double down.” It currently operates several programs, including Surge and Spark. While the former supports very early-stage firms, the latter offers fellowship to female founders other than venture and growth investments.
• The official blog post wrote,

“This fundraise, which comes at a time when markets are starting to cool after a very long bull run, signals our deep commitment to the region and the faith our Limited Partners have in the long-term growth story of India and Southeast Asia.”

• Sequoia India and Southeast Asia happen to be the most prolific investors in the region, but the unveiling of the two funds comes as a positive development amidst the increasing pessimism in the financial market space.
• While observing the emergence of a “thriving” Web3 ecosystem and new waves of innovation in markets like Vietnam, Philippines, Thailand, and Malaysia, Sequoia Southeast Asia aims to continue to invest actively at the seed, Series A, and growth stages in companies across the regions with the new fund.
• The firm is also expanding its focus on newer venues, including Web3, despite a lack of regulatory clarity. It is important to understand that most Indian venture capital firms have been reluctant to back crypto startups due to the ruling party’s regressive stance on the industry and failure to make a meaningful breakthrough in the tax rule that came into effect in April this year.
• Contrastingly, Sequoia India and Southeast Asia have invested in many web3 startups in the country, such as CoinSwitch Kuber and Ethereum layer 2 protocol, Polygon.