Sequoia Capital: the legendary firm behind Apple, Google and WhatsApp

Sequoia Capital is the most famous venture capital firm on Earth. Founded in 1972 by Don Valentine in Menlo Park, California, it has backed era-defining companies for five decades — Apple, Google, YouTube, PayPal, LinkedIn, Instagram, WhatsApp, Zoom, Stripe, Klarna and Cisco. Its stated mission: "We help the daring build legendary companies."

One clarification: today's Sequoia is the US and Europe business. In June 2023 the firm split into three independent partnerships — China became HongShan, and India and Southeast Asia became Peak XV Partners. Indian founders: Peak XV, not Sequoia Capital, inherited the India portfolio.

Investment thesis

Sequoia partners with founders from seed through IPO and beyond — in 2021 it restructured its US and European funds so it can keep holding companies after they go public. Its philosophy centres on "Company Design": legendary companies rest on evergreen foundations, an outlier mindset and a powerful community, and these principles compound when established early. Its recent public writing leans heavily into AI — from "AI Ascent" essays to pieces on AGI — signalling where the next category-defining companies may come from.

Sectors & stages

Sequoia invests across technology — enterprise software, fintech, consumer internet, healthcare and AI — from seed through early and growth stages. Unusually for a classic VC, its restructured fund architecture lets it remain a shareholder long after IPO.

Fund & cheque sizes

Sequoia managed roughly US$56 billion in assets as of early 2025. In October 2025 it launched two Europe-focused vehicles: a $750 million early-stage fund for Series A startups and a $200 million seed fund, aimed at founders "from any background from around the globe". It does not publish a standard cheque size — each investment is calibrated to the company's stage and ambition.

Notable portfolio

Apple, Google, YouTube, Oracle, PayPal, LinkedIn, Instagram, WhatsApp, Zoom, Airbnb, Stripe, Klarna and Cisco. Few firms in history can match that hit list.

Partners & team

The firm is led by managing partner Roelof Botha, alongside Pat Grady, Sonya Huang and Alfred Lin. Jess Lee was its first female investing partner in the US, and Luciana Lixandru leads the European practice from London.

Programs run

Sequoia's flagship founder programme is Arc, a seed-stage catalyst launched in 2022. Its first European cohort invited 17 startups from 13 countries into an eight-week "Company Design" curriculum taught by operators including the CEOs of Front, Wolt and Bolt — each received an upfront $1 million investment. An Americas edition followed the same year.

How to approach

Sequoia does not run permanent open applications; the classic route is a warm introduction to the partner covering your sector. Study the firm's public writing — its essays and podcasts reveal how its partners think — and arrive with a crisp case for category-defining ambition. A note for Indian founders: post-split, Sequoia Capital no longer invests in India. The former Sequoia India and Southeast Asia team — now Peak XV Partners under Shailendra Singh — manages $9 billion in assets, raised a $2.5 billion India and Southeast Asia fund in 2022, and has backed Zomato, Freshworks and Oyo. That is the door to knock on.