Lightspeed Venture Partners Sees Departures of Abhishek Nag and Vaibhav Agrawal

• ByStartupStory     |    April 15, 2024

Lightspeed Venture Partners, renowned for its backing of startups such as Oyo, Udaan, Sharechat, and Pocket FM, witnesses significant changes within its leadership as two of its partners – Vaibhav Agrawal and Abhishek Nag – depart from the firm, as confirmed by multiple sources familiar with the matter.

Agrawal, based in Silicon Valley, is poised to embark on his venture firm, while Nag has assumed a position at Mumbai-based 360 One (formerly IIFL Wealth & Asset Management), spearheading early-stage investments, according to insiders.

Recent notable exits within the venture capital landscape include Sameer Brij Verma’s impending departure from Nexus Venture Partners, alongside other notable departures at Trifecta Capital, Lightbox, and Orios, coinciding with a paradigm shift in the global tech investment landscape.

Agrawal, previously part of Lightspeed’s India partnership, transitioned to its US fund three years ago before his departure in 2023, according to sources.

Both Agrawal and Nag have confirmed their exits according to ET. Responding to inquiries, a Lightspeed spokesperson stated, “Abhishek Nag has returned to his original passion for seed and angel investing, and we fully support his decision. Our commitment to sustaining our leading franchise in the region remains unchanged, and we recently expanded the team to welcome highly experienced executives/founders such as Vivek Gambhir and Kevin Aluwi. We expect to welcome new additions to the team through 2024.”

Lightspeed has recently spearheaded significant funding rounds, including the $103-million raise by audio platform Pocket FM in March and a $41-million investment in artificial intelligence startup Sarvam AI.

In July 2022, Lightspeed secured $500 million for its fourth fund, focused on investments in India and Southeast Asia.

Despite these successes, some of Lightspeed’s major investments have faced challenges. Udaan and ShareChat, among the portfolio companies on which it has placed substantial bets, have witnessed valuation adjustments.

The departure of Agrawal and Nag occurs amidst a broader trend of key executives and partners within the tech investment ecosystem transitioning from their respective firms. Nexus Venture Partners’ Sameer Brij Verma, Venture debt fund Trifecta Capital’s partner Sandeep Bapat, and several partners at Lightbox Ventures and Orios Venture Partners are among those who have recently departed.

Conversely, the industry churn has also witnessed executives joining venture investors, exemplified by The Good Glamm Group cofounder Priyanka Gill’s move to Kalaari Capital and Shiprocket cofounder Vishesh Khurana’s upcoming leadership role at the India fund of Silicon Valley-based Tribe Capital.

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