Peak XV Partners, a major venture capital firm with over $10 billion in assets under management, has raised more than $50 million across 18 startups in its Surge 12 cohort.
The firm increased its investment ceiling to up to $5 million per company, up from $3 million previously. Surge 12 is the first cohort to operate under this higher limit, according to Peak XV.
The new cohort includes at least three companies that had already raised outside funding, some from Peak XV itself. The median investment per company has increased, though the firm declined to disclose the exact figure. Rajan Anandan, managing director at Peak XV, said the bar to raise a Series A has gone up significantly.
Anandan added that the firm is seeing more capital-intensive companies, particularly in deeptech, raising larger rounds at the seed stage. Surge has become more global with each cohort, with the latest group spanning founders and companies from San Francisco to Sydney.
Five of the 18 startups in Surge 12 are focused on the Indian market, while more than half are based in India.
"The bar to raise a Series A has gone up pretty significantly," said Rajan Anandan, managing director at Peak XV. He noted that Surge is Peak XV’s primary route for seed-stage investing, with the firm remaining an investor as companies progress through later funding rounds.
Since its launch in 2019, Surge has backed over 180 startups representing more than 18 nationalities. The 10 largest companies from those cohorts now generate more than $1 billion in combined annual revenue.
Surge founders typically include repeat entrepreneurs, experienced operators, and highly specialized technical founders, with about 50% to 60% of a typical cohort coming from operating roles at established technology companies.
Source: techcrunch
