[NEWS] Sequoia reveals first cohort for its ‘Surge’ accelerator program in India and Southeast Asia – Loganspace

Abet in January,Sequoia India announced plans for its first early-stage startup accelerator programin India and Southeast Asia, and this day the agencyprintedthe first cohort of 17 startups.

To recap, the program — which is legendary as Surge — presents every startup a $1.5 million check and participation in a four-month program that’s split all the diagram in which via India and Singapore, to boot as the broader Sequoia global presence in China and San Francisco.

The program kicked off final month, but the startups had been handiest unveiled for the first time this day — right here they’re:

• Azani Sports: a ‘pudgy stack’ sports wear startup basically basically based in India that sells online and via selected excessive boulevard retails
• Bobobox: a pill lodge firm basically basically based in Indonesia
• Bulbul: a stay-streaming carrier with a degree of curiosity on e-commerce all the diagram in which via India
• DancingMind: a Singapore startup that makes use of VR to enable far-off for stroke victims and sufferers of debilitating ailments like Parkinson’s
• Doubtnut: an India-basically basically based education startup that makes use of photos, movies and AI
• Flynote: a mosey reserving carrier with a degree of curiosity on personalized journeys
• Hippo Video: a platform creating, bettering and inspecting marketing and sales movies
• InterviewBit Academy: a laptop science coaching and construction platform in India — that’s now not unlikerecent Y Combinator graduate Skill-Lync
• Khatabook: an accounting carrier for SMEs in India that already claims 120,000 weekly users
• Qoala: a micro-insurance protection startup basically basically based in Indonesia, which competes with rivals like PasarPolis —which is backed by three of Indonesia’s unicorns
• ShopUp: a social commerce startup that helps sellers in Bangladesh enact industry via Fb — that’s a an identical belief to established Indian startupsMeesho(one more YC alum) andLimeRoadwhich allow sellers on WhatsApp
• Skillmatics: a startup headquartered in India that develops learning games for pre-college and main college young of us worn below 10
• Telio: a b2b commerce platform that objectives to digitize the system of manufacturers and wholesalers promoting to stores
• Uiza: a Singapore-Vietnam startup that lets publishers and companies manufacture their very own video infrastructure independent of platforms like YouTube
• Vybes: an e-commerce platform for social media influencers that’s basically basically based out of Singapore
• Zenyum: a startup that presents invisible braces for patrons in Southeast Asia at a cheaper brand than historical choices

There’s one additional startup which is being stored ‘below the radar’ for now, Sequoia stated.

Sequoia India managing directorShailendra Singhpreviously told TechCrunch that Surge would toughen a ‘curated’ choices of fellow VCs who may per chance invest alongside in the cohort alongside the agency, and Sequoia stated that the 17 startups own attracted a total of $36 million in investment. A spokesperson furthermore pointed out that five of the selection own on the least one feminine co-founders, which is quite definitely above moderate for the space even even though it’s refined to get official details covering India and (in particular) Southeast Asia.

Surge is a attention-grabbing effort for Sequoia, which has historically played in put up-seed and growth phases of the investment cycle.Sequoia closed its most celebrated fund for India and Southeast Asia at $695 millionfinal 365 days, and it furthermore has get right of entry to toa globally involving ‘growth’ fund that is targeted at $8 billion.Reviews own urgedthat Surge will get its own pleasing recent $200 million fund, which may per chance presumably well make slightly tons of sense given the functionality battle and confusion of investing by strategy of its main fund. However the agency is declining to observation on that possibility for now.

One main addition to the program that has been confirmed, on the opposite hand, is Rajan Anandan, the government who previously ran Google’s industry in India and Southeast Asia and is a well-identified angel investor. His arrival was as soon as announced earlier this month andhe’ll lead the Surge initiative.

His recruitment is a major grab for Sequoia, which is making a bet that Surge’s early stage push will reap it richer dividends in India and Southeast Asia. That fragment remains to be seen, but definitely, there may per chance be a dearth of early-stage packages in both areas compared with slightly about a parts of the sphere.