Indian venture capital firms Peak XV Partners, NuVentures, DeVC and Activate are increasingly investing in artificial intelligence (AI) startups founded by non-Indians, drawn by the prospect of higher returns and opportunities to deepen enterprise relationships, some investors told ET.
In 2025, Peak XV Partners invested in more than 10 US-based AI startups, including backend platform Supabase and AI analytics company PostHog, both founded by non-Indians. Activate, an AI-focused early-stage fund, has backed ElevenLabs.
DeVC invested in six US companies last year, along with Y Combinator, Andreessen Horowitz and Bain Capital Ventures. Among them is Answers.ai, founded by Zhou Li.