Shailesh Lakhani spent 17.5 years investing out of Sequoia Capital India and Peak XV Partners, backing companies from Truecaller to Zetwerk from his base in Bangalore.
Worth knowing
He knows how Indian consumer and fintech companies get from seed cheque to public listing, having sat on boards through those transitions at ixigo and Truecaller and seen Minimalist sold to Hindustan Unilever. Few people can read the India and Southeast Asia market with that much cycle memory. Canadian founders and funds weighing an India entry, or investors looking for a read on the region, should write.
Story
Shailesh studied computer engineering in the co-op program at the University of Waterloo, then went to India, where he ran Redknee's India technology business from 2001 to 2004 and later consulted for Microsoft India and Tata Sons. An MBA at Harvard followed, and in August 2007 he joined Sequoia Capital India. Over the next 17 years he built a portfolio across consumer internet, fintech and manufacturing, including Zetwerk, Porter, CoinSwitch, HealthKart and the skincare brand Minimalist. He left Peak XV in February 2025 and continues to invest and serve on boards from Bengaluru.
Highlights
- Managing Director, Sequoia Capital India / Peak XV Partners, 2007-2025
- Non-Executive Director, ixigo (Le Travenues Technology), since 2016
- Board representative at Truecaller, which later went public
- Early backer of Minimalist, acquired by Hindustan Unilever for ~$340M in 2025
- B.A.Sc. Computer Engineering, University of Waterloo; MBA, Harvard Business School
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