Key Takeaways
- • Sequoia Capital has raised approximately $10 billion in new funds while restructuring its organization, according to a memo titled "The Sequoia of Tomorrow" posted on X.
- • The firm is closing its London office, opened in 2020, and several staff will leave as Sequoia no longer considers a permanent local presence necessary to invest in Europe.
- • Sequoia is shutting its Arc pre-seed/seed accelerator (launched March 2022, $500,000 to $1 million in initial funding) and its Scouts programme, launched around 2009.
- • The firm is merging its early-stage and growth teams into one unified structure, flattening its partnership, and ending its traditional Monday partner meeting.
- • Seven general partners will primarily own and operate the firm: co-stewards Alfred Lin and Pat Grady, plus Andrew Reed, Shaun Maguire, Konstantine Buhler, Sonya Huang and David Cahn.
Summary
Sequoia Capital has raised approximately $10 billion in new funds while announcing a broad organizational restructuring that closes its London office, discontinues two founder-sourcing programmes and merges its early-stage and growth investment teams. According to the memo, published on X, the changes mark a shift from a roughly two-decade expansionary period, during which the firm built multiple businesses across different geographies, toward a smaller partnership focused more heavily on Silicon Valley. The firm said that expansion created unintended organizational complexity and additional layers of hierarchy.
The firm is ending the Arc accelerator and the Scouts programme. Arc, launched in March 2022, ran several seven-week cohorts annually for pre-seed and seed-stage companies, providing $500,000 to $1 million in initial funding and competing with programmes such as Y Combinator. The Scouts programme, launched around 2009, allowed founders, operators and other industry participants to make small investments on Sequoia's behalf. Sequoia's memo said the programme had helped introduce Uber and Stripe to the firm, among other companies.
The London office, which opened in 2020, will close. The memo said "We simply don't see the need for a local presence," while maintaining that Europe would continue to produce "outlier founders" that the firm could support from the Bay Area. Luciana Lixandru, who joined from Accel in 2020 as the firm's first European partner, said she had been offered a move to San Francisco but declined, and will remain a partner and continue investing personally in Europe. Sequoia has not announced an end to investments in European startups. The closure follows similar moves by Andreessen Horowitz, which closed its London office last year, and Coatue, which shut its London operation in 2024.
On governance, the firm is eliminating the distinction between early-stage and growth teams and flattening its partnership. The memo names seven general partners who will own and operate the firm. Former Workday chief executive Carl Eschenbach returned as a full-time partner in March. Jess Lee, the firm's first female partner, is now listed as chief product officer. Stephanie Zhan, who joined in 2015, has left to establish her own venture firm. The firm is also ending its Monday partner meeting, which it said reflects that founders operate continuously.
The changes follow earlier restructuring, including the 2023 separation of Sequoia's China, India and Southeast Asia businesses, which became HongShan and Peak XV. The memo acknowledged the risks, stating: "It is scary to break something that's already working just fine." The firm said its objective remains delivering the best possible returns to LPs.
The firm is ending the Arc accelerator and the Scouts programme. Arc, launched in March 2022, ran several seven-week cohorts annually for pre-seed and seed-stage companies, providing $500,000 to $1 million in initial funding and competing with programmes such as Y Combinator. The Scouts programme, launched around 2009, allowed founders, operators and other industry participants to make small investments on Sequoia's behalf. Sequoia's memo said the programme had helped introduce Uber and Stripe to the firm, among other companies.
The London office, which opened in 2020, will close. The memo said "We simply don't see the need for a local presence," while maintaining that Europe would continue to produce "outlier founders" that the firm could support from the Bay Area. Luciana Lixandru, who joined from Accel in 2020 as the firm's first European partner, said she had been offered a move to San Francisco but declined, and will remain a partner and continue investing personally in Europe. Sequoia has not announced an end to investments in European startups. The closure follows similar moves by Andreessen Horowitz, which closed its London office last year, and Coatue, which shut its London operation in 2024.
On governance, the firm is eliminating the distinction between early-stage and growth teams and flattening its partnership. The memo names seven general partners who will own and operate the firm. Former Workday chief executive Carl Eschenbach returned as a full-time partner in March. Jess Lee, the firm's first female partner, is now listed as chief product officer. Stephanie Zhan, who joined in 2015, has left to establish her own venture firm. The firm is also ending its Monday partner meeting, which it said reflects that founders operate continuously.
The changes follow earlier restructuring, including the 2023 separation of Sequoia's China, India and Southeast Asia businesses, which became HongShan and Peak XV. The memo acknowledged the risks, stating: "It is scary to break something that's already working just fine." The firm said its objective remains delivering the best possible returns to LPs.
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