Let’s meet Stateside: That’s the common message any Indian tech investor has for another over the past year.
Several VC partners and founders are moving a part of their teams to the US to stay close to the AI epicenter.
For instance, Elevation Capital currently has three people in the US, including AI partner Krishna Mehra. Peak XV has opened an office in the Bay Area, and with a team across the US including Arnav Sahu, Shelly Singh, Dini Mehta, Chris Merritt, and Jaime Bott. Arjun Gandhi, principal, Nexus Venture Partners, moved to San Francisco early this year, he said on LinkedIn.
ET has learnt that Aakash Kumar, managing partner, Z47 likely will be moving to the US to set up operations. Z47 did not respond to ET’s queries till press time.
This trend started in 2025, as generative AI began to take a stronger foothold, with a large portion of SaaS investments moving to AI. Lightspeed India partner Dev Khare earlier told ET that globally 80-90% of the investments have gone into AI. “In India it accounts for about 50% since other sectors such as quick consumer and fintech are still active, up from 15-20% in 2024, 40% in 2025, with more capital expected in 2026,” he said.
While there is a momentum in India, India continues to lack innovation at scale unlike the US. A Bengaluru-based investor, on the condition of anonymity, told ET, “You need to invest at firms that give you outsized returns and that can come only from investing in innovative companies, which is happening at scale in the US,” the investor said.
'The Wispr Whispers'
In the past year, DeVC, which is a part of Z47, Blume Ventures, Boundless Ventures, Peak XV, and Together Fund, have been investing in the Y-Combinator startups. ET reported that Activate and Peak XV are in talks to invest in the US-based voice AI startup Wispr Flow.
However, for the Indian investors, the right to win in the US market, where the competition is intense, is low. “That is why they are setting up in the US, getting to know founders and have a right to win,” the investor cited earlier, pointed out.
For many VC firms, moving to the US also means staying closer to portfolio companies. Since 2024, more founders than ever have moved to the US to raise funds and stay closer to customers. ET had earlier reported that more than 100 AI founders have moved to the US and more in the process of moving.
Multiple investors ET spoke to shared that they have been travelling more often. An AI investor at a tier-1 VC firm said that he is in the US at least once a quarter, which was once or twice a year before.
Alok Goyal, partner, Stellaris Venture Partners, told ET earlier that earlier, he would travel one or twice a year, staying at the max a week or two on a single trip. In the past year, he has been in the US every quarter with each stay anywhere ranging between 3-4 weeks. “In addition to our portfolio companies, it is also an opportunity for us to understand how the market is shifting and stay on top,” he said.
Nitin Sharma, Partner, Antler India, concurred that the number of times they travel to the US and duration have changed since 2024. "For AI startups that are building globally from Day 1, the epicenter effect is quite real, and that is likely to stay till 2027. But over time this might come down," Sharma said. Antler's Embark programme helps startups with the US market entry, and enabled 13 companies from India in the last 12 months.
