BENGALURU, Sept. 4 -- Chiratae Ventures, which has backed prominent startups such as PolicyBazaar, FirstCry and Lenskart, has initiated a succession planning exercise, appointing managing directors Venkatesh Peddi and Ranjith Menon to lead its venture fund series, three people familiar with the matter told Mint.

The firm is also in talks to hire a third partner to support growth investments, while founders TCM Sundaram and Sudhir Sethi will step back from the fifth fund, these people said. They added that Sundaram and Sethi will continue to be involved in Series A+ investment decisions and remain responsible for shaping the firm's culture and hiring senior talent.

Confirming the developments, Chiratae's founder and vice-chairman TC Meen...