Fireside Ventures Loses Second Dealmaker in Two Weeks

Consumer tech venture capital firm Fireside Ventures has confirmed the exit of Principal Prayag Mohanty, its second senior departure in two weeks and the third blow to its leadership and investment bench in under a year.

Mohanty, who led the firm's early-stage bets, has quit, according to multiple sources. His departure follows a bigger leadership change. Earlier this month, the firm announced that cofounder and partner Vinay Singh stepped down after nearly a decade at Fireside.

Responding to a query, Fireside Ventures confirmed Mohanty's exit. "Prayag Mohanty is moving on from his role of Principal at Fireside Ventures. We value his contributions made during his time with us, and wish him the best in his future endeavours," the firm said in a statement.

Who is leaving, and what did he do?

Mohanty joined Fireside Ventures as a Principal in January 2020. He was one of five principals listed on the firm's investment team, alongside Ankur Khaitan, Shuchi Pandya, Varun Varma and Ankita Balotia.

As the principal leading Fireside's early-stage investments, Mohanty fronted several of the firm's seed-stage bets over the past year. These included:

• An ₹8 Cr round in Gurugram-based men's personal care brand Unbound
• A ₹20 Cr round in Noida-based Oroos Confectionery
• Another ₹8 Cr seed round in kids wellness startup Wellopia

In earlier media reports, Mohanty was quoted as saying Fireside was ramping up investments in pre-product-market-fit and even pre-revenue startups. The firm planned to do this through a co-investment model with other funds and angel investors, with 8-10 such deals in the pipeline from the new third fund.

Before Fireside, Mohanty spent about seven years as a principal at IvyCap Ventures from 2013 to 2020. There he was involved in deals for listed jewellery giant BlueStone, BiryaniByKilo and Vinculum.

What do the departures mean for Fund IV?

The key departures come less than a year after Fireside announced the final close of its Fund IV at ₹2,265 Cr (about $253 Mn) in December 2025. With Singh's exit, the firm is now led by founder and managing partner Kanwaljit Singh and cofounders and partners Kannan Sitaram and Dipanjan Basu.

Fund IV drew commitments from limited partners including the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), Investment Corporation of Dubai, HarbourVest, Waterfield and Fidelity International. With Fund IV in place, Fireside's assets under management across four funds stand at ₹5,300 Cr, or about $650 Mn.

Why does this matter now?

Two exits in two weeks test the continuity of an early-stage investment team at a firm that has just raised its largest fund. Mohanty was the principal fronting seed deals at the moment Fireside was pushing into pre-revenue startups, a segment that depends heavily on individual dealmakers' judgment. His departure, alongside Singh's, shifts deal execution onto the remaining principals and the three partners at the top of the firm.

The firm's statement offered no timeline for replacing Mohanty, and it did not say who will take over the 8-10 pre-revenue deals he said were in the pipeline from the third fund. With ₹5,300 Cr under management and a freshly closed Fund IV, Fireside now must show that its seed pipeline and deployment pace hold steady through the leadership transition.