Surge (Peak XV): funding, terms & how to apply
Peak XV's seed platform for India and SEA — real seed rounds of $500K–5M plus a multi-module founder program, from the firm formerly known as Sequoia India.
Investment
$500K–5M seed capital
Equity
Priced seed by Peak XV; % negotiated per company
Program length
~4 months (multi-module)
Format
Hybrid
Deadlines
Roughly annual cohorts recently, amid Peak XV's 2026 restructuring of the program
Acceptance rate
Not published
Facts last checked 2026-08-26. Deals and dates change — the official site is always the source of truth for the current application window.
What Surge (Peak XV) actually is
Surge is less an accelerator than a seed round with a curriculum: Peak XV (ex-Sequoia India & SEA) leads priced seed investments from $500K up to $5M, then runs selected companies through a multi-module program spanning India, Southeast Asia and a global immersion. Cohorts mix AI, fintech, consumer and SaaS founders at meaningful scale — recent classes have skewed heavily AI.
Note the moving ground: Peak XV has been folding Surge deeper into its broader early-stage investing, and cohort cadence has slowed from the historical two per year. Treat an application as pitching Peak XV for seed with the program as upside.
What they look for
The bar you need to clear before the application is worth sending.
Startups that would credibly raise institutional seed anyway — this is a priced round.
India and Southeast Asia focus, with global ambition.
Teams strong enough for Peak XV's normal investment bar.
AI, fintech, consumer and SaaS pattern-match recent cohorts.
Before you apply
Most rejections happen before the interview — in the application itself
Every question Surge (Peak XV) asks — problem, traction, business model, team, market size — maps to work you can finish first. Build your startup profile in StartupKit, run the readiness score, and walk into the application with real answers instead of blank fields. Free, no card.
Build your startup profile freeApplication FAQ
What does Surge invest?
Peak XV leads seed rounds of $500K–5M (the cap was raised from $3M) in Surge companies; equity is negotiated per company as a priced round, not a fixed accelerator formula.
Is Surge still running cohorts?
Yes, but cadence has slowed amid a restructuring that folds Surge into Peak XV's broader early-stage investing — check the site for the current cohort's status before planning around it.
How does it compare to Iterative?
Surge writes much larger, priced rounds for later, stronger teams; Iterative is a classic batch with fixed-range checks at earlier stages. Many SEA founders do Iterative first and Surge at seed.
Similar programs
Iterative
Asia-Pacific · Invested in full on admission; no program fees
Southeast Asia's YC analog — founded by YC alumni, running twice-yearly remote-first batches with $150K–500K checks for founders from Jakarta to Manila to Ho Chi Minh City.
Y Combinator
North America · 7% on the $125K; the $375K SAFE converts at your next round
The accelerator every other accelerator is measured against — $500K on founder-friendly terms, four batches a year in San Francisco, and the strongest alumni network in tech.
AppWorks Accelerator
Asia-Pacific · Completely free — no equity, tokens or fees
Greater Southeast Asia's zero-cost heavyweight — Taiwan's AppWorks runs 6-month batches for AI, web3 and deep-tech founders with no equity, no tokens and no fees, backed by its own VC fund.