Key Takeaways
- • Mettle Capital, a venture firm founded in May 2026 by three former Peak XV Partners partners, has made its maiden investment alongside Peak XV in AI startup Empirical Machines, according to three people aware of the deal cited by Moneycontrol.
- • The Empirical Machines round has been upsized to $20 million, up $5 million from the $15 million Moneycontrol first reported, with Bessemer Venture Partners no longer part of the round.
- • Empirical Machines, founded by former OpenAI researcher Shyamal Hitesh Anadkat, is valued at around $80 million and focuses on accelerating scientific discovery, including chemical compound applications.
- • The deal ties together former partners who left Peak XV over disputes about carried interest and payouts linked to its Groww investment, which now sit on the same cap table.
- • Neither Mettle Capital nor Empirical Machines has officially announced the round, and both declined to comment on Moneycontrol's queries.
Summary
Mettle Capital has teamed up with Peak XV Partners for its first investment, co-investing in Empirical Machines, an AI startup founded by former OpenAI researcher Shyamal Hitesh Anadkat, in a $20 million round, according to three people aware of the developments who spoke to Moneycontrol. The round has been upsized from the $15 million Moneycontrol previously reported, when Anadkat was seeking funds from Peak XV and Bessemer Venture Partners (BVP). Bessemer, which had been in talks to participate, is no longer part of the round, sources said. Empirical Machines continues to be valued at around $80 million.
The deal comes less than eight months after Mettle's three founding partners, Ashish Agrawal, Ishaan Mittal and Tejeshwi Sharma, left Peak XV and launched their own fund in May 2026. Their departure followed disagreements over economics, including the allocation of carried interest and payouts linked to Peak XV's investment in Groww, details of which Moneycontrol had exclusively reported. Agrawal, who led Peak XV's Groww investment, was central to those discussions, and Mittal and Sharma subsequently left with him. The three had worked together for roughly a decade. Mettle and Empirical Machines did not comment on Moneycontrol's queries, and Peak XV had not offered comment earlier. Mettle has not yet officially announced its fundraise.
Empirical Machines is focused on accelerating scientific discovery, with work including applications around chemical compounds. Anadkat spent nearly four years at OpenAI, joining in 2022 to work on bridging AI models and real-world products, and was identified in media reports as Head of Startup Solutions, working with startups building on OpenAI's technology. He was also a venture scout at Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) from 2023 to 2026, according to his LinkedIn profile. He returned to India earlier in 2026, and Empirical Machines is his first startup since that move.
The fundraise comes as investor interest in Indian AI startups picks up after a relatively cautious period. Moneycontrol reported that MStack AI is raising around $30 million and Simplismart is assembling a $50 million round. Workplace AI startup Ema raised $77 million at an $800 million valuation from Creaegis and existing investors. Several other AI startups are in talks with investors including Claypond Capital, Accel, Arkam Ventures, Binny Bansal and Albinder Dhindsa. Momentum built earlier in the year with Sarvam AI's $300 million round and Emergent's $130 million raise, both of which reached $1.5 billion valuations. Dedicated AI venture funds are also drawing capital: Together Fund is reportedly seeking $150-170 million for its third fund, potentially nearing $200 million, and Activate raised $105 million for a new fund, above its initial $75 million target.
The deal comes less than eight months after Mettle's three founding partners, Ashish Agrawal, Ishaan Mittal and Tejeshwi Sharma, left Peak XV and launched their own fund in May 2026. Their departure followed disagreements over economics, including the allocation of carried interest and payouts linked to Peak XV's investment in Groww, details of which Moneycontrol had exclusively reported. Agrawal, who led Peak XV's Groww investment, was central to those discussions, and Mittal and Sharma subsequently left with him. The three had worked together for roughly a decade. Mettle and Empirical Machines did not comment on Moneycontrol's queries, and Peak XV had not offered comment earlier. Mettle has not yet officially announced its fundraise.
Empirical Machines is focused on accelerating scientific discovery, with work including applications around chemical compounds. Anadkat spent nearly four years at OpenAI, joining in 2022 to work on bridging AI models and real-world products, and was identified in media reports as Head of Startup Solutions, working with startups building on OpenAI's technology. He was also a venture scout at Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) from 2023 to 2026, according to his LinkedIn profile. He returned to India earlier in 2026, and Empirical Machines is his first startup since that move.
The fundraise comes as investor interest in Indian AI startups picks up after a relatively cautious period. Moneycontrol reported that MStack AI is raising around $30 million and Simplismart is assembling a $50 million round. Workplace AI startup Ema raised $77 million at an $800 million valuation from Creaegis and existing investors. Several other AI startups are in talks with investors including Claypond Capital, Accel, Arkam Ventures, Binny Bansal and Albinder Dhindsa. Momentum built earlier in the year with Sarvam AI's $300 million round and Emergent's $130 million raise, both of which reached $1.5 billion valuations. Dedicated AI venture funds are also drawing capital: Together Fund is reportedly seeking $150-170 million for its third fund, potentially nearing $200 million, and Activate raised $105 million for a new fund, above its initial $75 million target.
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