Key Takeaways
- • Sequoia Capital will close its London office, ending its Arc accelerator and Scouts program, and combining its early-stage and growth-stage investment teams into a single structure, according to a memo titled "The Sequoia of Tomorrow."
- • The firm said it has raised about $10 billion for new funds, even as it pares back programs aimed at the youngest startups.
- • The Arc accelerator, launched in March 2022 for pre-seed and seed-stage companies, offered seven-week programs with initial funding of $500,000 to $1 million per selected company.
- • Partner Luciana Lixandru declined a relocation to San Francisco and will remain a partner with her board seats, continuing to invest personally in European founders.
- • Sequoia is ending its regular Monday partner meetings and moving to an operating model run by seven managing partners, which the firm describes as a shift away from roughly 20 years of expansion.
Summary
Venture capital firm Sequoia Capital is restructuring its operations, closing its London office, ending its Arc accelerator and Scouts program, and merging its early-stage and growth-stage investing teams, according to a memo titled "The Sequoia of Tomorrow," as reported by Finway. The company also said it had raised about $10 billion for new funds.
The Scouts program, which had operated since around 2009, gave founders and executives small sums to invest on Sequoia's behalf and helped the firm source deals with young founders. Those connections included Sequoia's introduction to Uber through Jason Calacanis and to Stripe through Sam Altman. The Arc accelerator launched in March 2022 for pre-seed and seed-stage startups. The seven-week program provided selected companies with between $500,000 and $1 million in initial funding. Sequoia said it is closing both initiatives to concentrate resources on fewer people and areas, which will end support for early-stage companies through these programs.
Sequoia opened its London office in 2020, and some employees will leave following the closure. The memo states that the firm does not believe it needs a local presence in Europe and plans to support European founders from its San Francisco Bay Area base. Partner Luciana Lixandru, the firm's European partner, was offered a move to San Francisco but declined. She will remain a partner, keep her board seats and continue investing personally in European founders.
Sequoia also plans to simplify its partnership structure, eliminating regular Monday partner meetings and operating as one team rather than separate Early and Growth groups. The firm is owned and run by seven managing partners: Alfred Lin, Pat Grady, Andrew Reed, Shaun Maguire, Konstantine Buhler, Sonya Huang and David Cahn. Sequoia characterized the changes as a departure from an approximately 20-year period of expansion that had made its internal hierarchy more complex, with the goal of having all partners work as one team.
The Scouts program, which had operated since around 2009, gave founders and executives small sums to invest on Sequoia's behalf and helped the firm source deals with young founders. Those connections included Sequoia's introduction to Uber through Jason Calacanis and to Stripe through Sam Altman. The Arc accelerator launched in March 2022 for pre-seed and seed-stage startups. The seven-week program provided selected companies with between $500,000 and $1 million in initial funding. Sequoia said it is closing both initiatives to concentrate resources on fewer people and areas, which will end support for early-stage companies through these programs.
Sequoia opened its London office in 2020, and some employees will leave following the closure. The memo states that the firm does not believe it needs a local presence in Europe and plans to support European founders from its San Francisco Bay Area base. Partner Luciana Lixandru, the firm's European partner, was offered a move to San Francisco but declined. She will remain a partner, keep her board seats and continue investing personally in European founders.
Sequoia also plans to simplify its partnership structure, eliminating regular Monday partner meetings and operating as one team rather than separate Early and Growth groups. The firm is owned and run by seven managing partners: Alfred Lin, Pat Grady, Andrew Reed, Shaun Maguire, Konstantine Buhler, Sonya Huang and David Cahn. Sequoia characterized the changes as a departure from an approximately 20-year period of expansion that had made its internal hierarchy more complex, with the goal of having all partners work as one team.
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