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Sequoia Capital is a venture capital firm headquartered in Menlo Park, California. Sequoia specializes in seed stage, early stage, and growth stage investments in private companies across technology sectors. Notable companies that Sequoia has invested in include 23andme, Airbnb, Apple, DoorDash, Google, Instagram, LinkedIn, Stripe, WhatsApp, YouTube, and Zoom. The firm has distinguished itself from other top venture capital firms through successful early bets in large tech companies. Sequoia has been structured to encompass three different venture entities: one focused on the U.S. and Europe, another on India and Southeast Asia, and a third on China.

Early history and investments
Sequoia was founded by Don Valentine in 1972 in Menlo Park, California, at a time when the state’s venture capital industry was just beginning to develop. Valentine named the firm after the redwood trees that grow in Northern California and are known for their strength and longevity.

Sequoia formed its first venture capital fund in 1974, and was an early investor in Atari the next year. In 1978, Sequoia became one of the first investors in Apple.

In the 1980s, Electronic Arts and Sierra Semiconductor both incubated in the Sequoia offices. Sequoia was an early investor in Oracle in 1983, six years after the company was founded, and also invested in Cisco in 1987.

Partners Doug Leone and Michael Moritz assumed leadership of the firm in 1996.

Global expansion
In 1999, Sequoia established a dedicated investment fund for Israeli startups, and the firm expanded its operations further into global markets in the early 2000s. In 2005, Sequoia Capital China was established. In 2006, Sequoia Capital expanded to India with the acquisition of Westbridge Capital Partners, an Indian venture capital firm. This acquisition eventually became Sequoia Capital India.

2010s
In 2012, Moritz took a step back from the day-to-day operations of the firm after being diagnosed with an unspecified illness. Leone became Global Managing Partner. Jim Goetz led Sequoia’s US business from 2012 until 2017, when he was succeeded by Roelof Botha.

In 2015, Michael Moritz was questioned about Sequoia's lack of any women investing partners. Moritz argued that there were few qualified female candidates, because American women "tend to elect not to study the sciences when they’re 11 or 12", and said that Sequoia would not "lower our standards" to hire women.

In 2016, Sequoia hired Jess Lee, making her the first female investing partner in the United States in the firm's 44-year history.

2020 to present
In March 2020, Sequoia announced it would hire Luciana Lixandru as its first partner based in Europe.

On March 5, 2020, Sequoia Capital sent a notice to its portfolio companies warning that the global economy could be restrained by the coronavirus, and urging these companies to “question every assumption about your business."

In October 2021, Sequoia announced it would implement a new fund structure for its U.S. and European business that would allow it to remain involved with companies after their public market debuts.

Investments
Sequoia Capital is structured as a limited liability company. Investors, referred to as limited partners, contribute money to a fund that the firm's general partners then invest in business ventures. Sequoia's limited partners have primarily been university endowments, charitable foundations, and other large institutions.

Sequoia specializes in seed stage, early stage, and growth stage investments in private technology companies, including those in the clean tech, consumer internet, crypto, financial services, healthcare, mobile, and robotics sectors. Sequoia has been recognized for its strong track record of early investments. The firm has also distinguished itself from other top venture capital firms by diversifying its investments and not just focusing on U.S. early-stage venture capital.

Sequoia is an umbrella brand for three different venture entities: one focused on the U.S. and Europe, another on India and Southeast Asia, and a third on China. Notable investments for Sequoia Capital India include Byju and Ola. Notable investments for Sequoia Capital China include Alibaba, Bytedance, and Meituan. In October 2021, Sequoia Capital China participated in a US$65 million funding round in Animoca. In November 2021, The Wall Street Journal reported that Sequoia Capital’s China unit is a major investor in Chinese semiconductor firms, raising U.S. national security concerns.

Sequoia's notable early investments include Atari and Apple in the 1970s, Cisco and Oracle in the 1980s, Yahoo and Google in the 1990s, Airbnb and LinkedIn in the 2000s, and Stripe, Square, and WhatsApp in the 2010s. In 2019, Sequoia made more new seed-stage investments than Series A deals. 2020 was reported to be one of the firm’s best years, with eight Sequoia portfolio companies going public in the United States. The Airbnb and Doordash IPOs collectively earned the firm stakes worth more than $23 billion. That same year, Hurun Research Institute identified Sequoia as the world's top unicorn investor, noting it had invested in one in five of all private companies valued at $1 billion or more.

In July 2021, Sequoia published a piece about "the Latin American startup opportunity" that signaled it would increase its focus there. The firm previously invested in regional unicorns Nubank and Rappi.

In October 2021, Sequoia announced The Sequoia Fund, a new fund structure for its U.S. and European business. The Sequoia Fund is an open-ended capital vehicle for all future Sequoia sub-funds. This new structure enables Sequoia to remain involved with and invested in companies after their public market debuts. Sequoia also announced it was registering as an investment advisor, providing flexibility for the firm to invest in more crypto assets and secondary stock. A quarter of Sequoia’s new investments in 2021 were crypto-related.

Programs and partnerships
In 2009, Sequoia launched its scout program, which functions as an individual investor network, managed by Sequoia, that provides founders and other individuals with capital to invest in promising early-stage startups. Sequoia Scouts have invested in over 1,000 companies, including Stripe, Faire, and Uber. Sequoia was the first venture capital firm to offer a scout program, and the model has since been emulated by others in the industry.

In December 2020 Sequoia expanded the scout program to Europe. In 2021, Sequoia partnered on the BLCK VC Scout Network to provide training and education to current and aspiring Black scouts.

Sequoia's Company Design program is a multi-week "crash course" for pre-seed, seed, and Series A founders that includes training from Sequoia partners.