Piyush Gupta, most recently Deutsche Bank’s head of telecommunications, media and technology (TMT) in Southeast Asia and India, joined Sequoia Capital as head of strategic development on Monday.
He was given a newly-created position at the US venture capital firm, which is steadily expanding its business in Asia. Sequoia invests in Asia ex-China through its five India funds which — despite the name — offer limited partners, as VC fund investors are known, exposure to companies throughout the region.
These funds have invested in a range of Asian start-ups, including Southeast Asian property search company 99.co, Indonesian online marketplace Tokopedia, payments provider Prizm, analytics company Mu Sigma, and healthcare app Practo.
But this, it seems, is only the start for the firm. Sequoia has been aggressively growing its exposure to Asia. In an SEC filing on June 1,Sequoia said its India Fund IV had raised $694.75 million, compared to the $494.75 million fundraising it declared in early 2015. On the same day, Sequoia’s China Growth Fund IV said it had raised a total of $899.5 million.
Gupta appears a sensible hire for the firm, which concentrates the bulk of its roughly $3 billion Asian investments in the technology sector. But Sequoia is also seeing growth in the consumer and healthcare sectors in the region, meaning Gupta will get exposure to more than just TMT companies.
He will run a team of three people in the region, although this is likely to grow in time, said a person familiar with the matter.
Gupta, who will oversee Sequoia’s business throughout the region with the exception of China, turned down the option of becoming Deutsche Bank’s head of TMT in Asia Pacific in order to join Sequoia, said a person familiar with the matter. He has not been directly replaced by the German bank.
A Deutsche Bank spokesperson declined to comment.
Gupta becomes the latest in a string of bankers to leave the industry in recent years.
