16 women founders feature in Peak XV’s third Spark cohort

Venture capital firm Peak XV (formerly Sequoia Capital India and Southeast Asia) this week launched the third edition of its fellowship program Spark with a cohort of 16 women founders of 14 startups.

Spark, a mentorship program that lasts up to four months and includes an equity-free grant of $100,000, aims “to shape women leaders of tomorrow by providing them with access to learning and mentorship”

Each startup also receives more than $1 million worth of perks from other companies in cloud credits to devtools, and analytics, the company said.

“Out of the many applications we received for this cohort of Spark, these 16 founders really impressed us with their ambition, first principles thinking and rich operating experience. Many of them are second-time founders. We’re excited to see them develop into leaders of tomorrow,” Sakshi Chopra, managing director at Peak XV said.

Artificial intelligence (AI) and healthtech dominate PeakXV’s third cohort of 14 startups, with five companies in AI, and four in healthtech. The other five startups focus on software as a service (SaaS), consumer, and business-to-business sectors, the company said.

The five companies focusing on AI include RaptorX.ai, an AI-powered fraud detection and prevention platform helping businesses assess cyber-risks; and FOBOH, a platform that helps food and beverage wholesalers scale sustainably, reduce waste, and get paid faster.

Traverse, which works at the intersection of AI and travel; Meritic, a platform that helps mid-market firms automate their reporting and analytics; and Wordsworth AI that tailors shopping experiences to individual customers based on preferences, behaviors, and past interactions are the other three startups tapping AI technology.

The four companies focusing on healthtech solutions include BabyMD, a full-stack pediatric service; Soulside, an AI-powered mental health platform; Evenly, a chain of dermatology and cosmetology clinics offering tailored services; and one company currently in stealth.

The other companies include Profit Peak, a SaaS platform that provides e-commerce businesses with actionable data insights to boost profitability; Fix My Curls, a hair care brand curated to cater to naturally textured hair; Melvvi, a startup that focuses on handmade and sustainable lifestyle products; CHOSEN, which offers high-performance skin care products with cosmeceutical and nutraceutical offerings sold through its e-commerce platform; and A-Sourced, an AI-powered consignment platform.

Mentors of the current cohort include Mamaearth’s Ghazal Alagh and Varun Alagh; Clevertap’s Anand Jain; Wakefit’s Chaitanya Ramalingegowda; SquareX’s Vivek Ramachandran; Mosaic Wellness’ Revant Bhate; Minimalist’s Mohit Yadav and Rahul Yadav; NatHabit’s Swagatika Das; AppsForBharat’s Prashant Sachan; Insider’s Merve Nazlioglu; Kutumb’s Abhishek Kejriwal; and Cloudnine’s Raviganesh V., the company said.

Peak XV’s community of Spark founders now includes three cohorts, 48 founders and 41 startups across more than 10 sectors in less than three years, the company said.