Google India Head Rajan Anandan To Join Sequoia Capital

Google's India head Rajan Anandan is stepping down to focus on investing in early-stage technology startups in Southeast Asia at Sequoia Capital.

Anandan, Google's vice president for Southeast Asia and managing director for India, will step down in April-end, according to a company statement. He leaves after working for more than eight years at the internet giant. Vikas Agnihotri, country director, sales at Google, will take on the responsibility in the interim till the Mountain View, California-based company finds a replacement.

Anandan will join the U.S.-based venture capital firm as a managing director in India. “We are thrilled to welcome Rajan Anandan,” Shailendra Singh, managing director at Sequoia Capital, said in a blogpost on Linkedln. Anandan will focus on developing Surge—a founder-focused programme to scale up early-stage startups in India and Southeast Asia by acting as an investment adviser and mentor, he said.

Anandan started his career with McKinsey and was also vice president and country general manager at Dell India. Prior to Google, he was managing director at Microsoft India till August 2010. He is among prolific investors in Indian startups including Dunzo, Buttercups, Capillary Technologies and Druva, among others. According to startup data platform Crunchbase, he has backed more than 50 ventures so far.

“His entrepreneurial zeal and leadership has helped grow the overall internet ecosystem in India and Southeast Asia,” Scott Beaumont, president at Google Asia Pacific, said in the statement. “We wish him all the best in his new adventures.”