Former Peak XV execs floated Ambition Capital targets $250 million for debut fund
16 Mar 2026, 05:34 PMShailesh Lakhani and Harshjit Sethi, who were managing directors at the venture capital firm, had come together last year to form the venture capital firm.
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Early-stage venture capital firm Ambition Capital, launched by former managing directors of Peak XV Partners, is targeting to raise $250 million for its debut vehicle, The Economic Times reported.
Shailesh Lakhani and Harshjit Sethi, who were managing directors at the venture capital firm, had come together last year to form the venture capital firm. Mayank Porwal, who had left Peak XV Partners in 2023 as vice president, has also joined the duo.
The venture capital firm is currently in early discussions with potential Limited Partners (LPs) to raise the capital for the fund, the report said, citing an unidentified person.
The fund will invest in startups across artificial intelligence, fintech, deep tech and consumer technology sectors in India at the seed and Series A stages.
Ambition Capital will seek to make around 26-30 investments from the fund with a focus on themes like innovation and digital sovereignty in the Indian context.
With the new venture capital firm, Lakhani, Sethi and Porwal join a new batch of senior investors who have left established funds to set up independent firms to back early-stage startups.
At Peak XV Partners, Lakhani spent 17 years and his portfolio included Minimalist, Ixigo, Zetwerk, OneCard and Coinswitch. Sethi, who stepped down in September last year, made investments in BharatPe, Turtlemint, Darwinbox and Sarvam AI.
Previously, Abhay Pandey, VT Bharadwaj, and Gautam Mago, who left Peak XV Partners between 2017 and 2018, came together to launch A91 Partners. In 2019, Kaushik Anand, the former India head of CapitalG, joined the firm in 2019.
Last month, another three managing directors -- Ashish Agarwal, Ishaan Mittal and Tejeshwi Sharma -- at Peak XV Partners also exited the venture capital firm, with plans to launch their own venture fund.
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