Sequoia Capital

Sequoia’s core belief is to partner early with “outlier” founders and compound value over decades, using patient capital through the evergreen Sequoia Capital Fund that has no expiration dates. The firm’s sector focus centers on enterprise software, developer tooling, cybersecurity, data and AI infrastructure, fintech, and category‑defining consumer platforms and marketplaces. Recent announcements emphasize AI‑enabled applications across consumer, enterprise, healthcare, robotics, hardware, and security. Sequoia avoids diffuse “party rounds” that do not set companies up for success and generally does not take board seats at seed. Stage focus spans pre‑seed and seed (via the Arc program and a dedicated seed fund), Series A/B (through a $750 M early‑stage fund), and later growth rounds (via closed‑end sub‑funds). Geographic focus is the United States and Europe, with separate entities handling China (HongShan) and India/SEA (Peak XV). The firm seeks large, expanding markets, strong product‑market fit signals, and scalable unit economics, while emphasizing founder vision, mission clarity, and execution speed.

Sequoia prioritizes exceptional founders who can articulate a clear purpose, a compelling “why now,” and a credible path to win. At the earliest stages the firm is more interested in the founders’ vision and potential than in a working product or existing revenue. It looks for large or expanding markets, early signals of product‑market fit such as strong customer love or usage intensity, and scalable unit economics. Traction is helpful but not mandatory at seed; Sequoia has backed companies pre‑revenue (e.g., Apple) or with only a founding team (e.g., NVIDIA). By Series A the firm expects convincing PMF signals and a repeatable go‑to‑market engine. Deal patterns favor leading, concentrated ownership and fast decision‑making, while avoiding “party rounds” that do not set companies up for success. At seed Sequoia typically does not take a board seat but aims to lead the next round and help secure a strong Series A partner. Throughout, partners stress preparedness, disciplined execution, and a focus on long‑term value creation.

• YouTubeLead
  Early bet on a product-led consumer video platform with massive network effects and global market opportunity.
• WhatsAppLead
  Simple, privacy-focused messaging at global scale; Sequoia led multiple rounds to support rapid user growth.
• StripeLead
  Developer-first payments infrastructure unlocking a vast global market; Sequoia led the Series A to accelerate expansion.
• DoorDashLead
  Logistics marketplace with strong early demand and clear unit economics, aligning with Sequoia's focus on scalable consumer services.
• InstacartLead
  Innovative grocery-delivery model that proved viable at scale, matching Sequoia's thesis on transforming large consumer categories.
• Airbnb
  Peer-to-peer travel platform; Sequoia seeded Airbnb in 2009 and participated in the 2010 Series A (which was led by Greylock).
• InstagramLead
  Category-defining photo-sharing app with explosive engagement; Sequoia led the $50M Series B at a $500M valuation just before the Facebook acquisition (Benchmark led the Series A).
• Stripe (later rounds)
  Continued support in later-stage financings reflects Sequoia's confidence in the company's growth trajectory.

• 
  Andreessen Horowitz

  Airbnb
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  CRV

  DoorDash
• 
  General Catalyst

  Stripe
• 
  Initialized Capital

  Instacart
• 
  Kleiner Perkins

  DoorDash
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  Pear VC

  DoorDash
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  Union Square Ventures

  Stripe