Sequoia Capital restructuring will eliminate several longstanding programs as the venture capital firm shifts toward a simpler investment structure. The Silicon Valley investor is closing its London office, ending two startup initiatives and consolidating its investment teams. It also announced it had raised about $10 billion in new funds.
The changes were outlined Wednesday in a statement titled “The Sequoia of Tomorrow.” Sequoia said two decades of international expansion had introduced management layers that complicated its operations. The firm now wants to concentrate resources on fewer investments while giving partners greater independence.
Sequoia Capital Restructuring Ends Arc and Scouts
Sequoia is discontinuing two programs that helped it identify early-stage startups. The Scouts program, launched around 2009, allowed selected founders and technology executives to make small investments on Sequoia’s behalf.
The network helped the firm discover companies before they became widely recognized. Jason Calacanis introduced Uber through the program, while Sam Altman helped connect Sequoia with Stripe. Other participants included Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky and Dropbox founders Drew Houston and Arash Ferdowsi.
Sequoia is also shutting down Arc, its accelerator launched in 2022. The program supported pre-seed and seed-stage startups through seven-week cohorts, with participating companies receiving approximately $500,000 to $1 million.
The closures mark a departure from Sequoia’s previous approach to sourcing investments through extensive founder networks and structured accelerator programs.
London Office Closure Shifts Focus to Silicon Valley
Sequoia will close its London office, which opened in 2020. Several employees will leave as a result, although the firm maintains that European startups will remain eligible for investment.
Sequoia said it can support European founders from its San Francisco Bay Area headquarters without maintaining a permanent London presence.
Luciana Lixandru, Sequoia’s first European partner, said she declined an offer to relocate to San Francisco. In a public statement, she explained her decision to remain in Europe. She will retain her existing board positions and continue investing personally in European founders.
The closure follows similar departures from London by Andreessen Horowitz and Coatue. It also continues Sequoia’s geographic consolidation after its China and India-Southeast Asia operations separated into HongShan and Peak XV in 2023.
Investment Teams Merge Under Seven General Partners
Sequoia is eliminating the separation between its early-stage and growth investment teams. Both groups will operate as a unified organization, allowing partners to support companies across different development stages.
The firm has also flattened its partnership structure and discontinued its traditional Monday partner meetings. Sequoia says investment decisions should follow founders’ schedules rather than a fixed weekly process.
Seven general partners now oversee the organization: Alfred Lin, Pat Grady, Andrew Reed, Shaun Maguire, Konstantine Buhler, Sonya Huang and David Cahn. Lin and Grady serve as co-stewards.
Former Workday CEO Carl Eschenbach has returned as a full-time partner, while veteran investor Doug Leone has taken on a renewed role. Jess Lee has shifted into the chief product officer position.
Stephanie Zhan, who joined Sequoia in 2015, has also departed. She announced plans to establish her own investment firm. Her previous work included discussions about Sequoia’s investment decision-making process, explored in a video on investment committees.
$10 Billion in New Funds Supports Investment Strategy
Despite reducing its organizational footprint, Sequoia has raised approximately $10 billion in new funds. The firm intends to maintain its selective investment approach across emerging technology sectors, including artificial intelligence, space and biotechnology.
Sequoia remains active in technology financing. Earlier this year, it led ElevenLabs’ $500 million funding round, which valued the AI voice startup at $11 billion. It also backed Mecka AI’s funding efforts in the robotics sector.
The restructuring follows a leadership transition that moved control from Roelof Botha to Lin and Grady. Sequoia says its goal remains delivering investment returns while supporting startups from their earliest stages through public listings.
The firm has not disclosed how many employees will leave or how it will distribute its new funds across investment stages. Its decision to close established programs while raising additional capital represents a substantial change in how Sequoia plans to identify and support founders.
