Sequoia Capital (NASDAQ: SEQUX) has unveiled two new early-stage funds totaling $950 million, reaffirming its commitment to identifying and supporting visionary founders despite the current buzz around an AI investment bubble. The firm announced a $750 million Series A fund and a $200 million seed fund, mirroring the sizes of funds launched three years ago.
“Markets fluctuate, but our strategy remains steadfast. We focus on outlier founders with the potential to build generational businesses,” said Bogomil Balkansky, a partner on Sequoia’s early-stage investment team.
This announcement comes after a challenging period for the legendary venture capital firm. In 2021, Sequoia restructured into an evergreen main fund supported by specialized sub-funds, allowing it to hold onto portfolio company stock well beyond IPOs. However, the firm faced setbacks, including a $200 million loss from its FTX investment in 2022 and the 2023 split from its India and China divisions. Now, Sequoia is doubling down on its core mission: partnering with founders at the earliest stages of their entrepreneurial journey.
“Our ambition has always been to identify these founders as early as possible and actively support them in building their companies,” Balkansky emphasized.
With AI startup valuations soaring, Sequoia’s early-stage focus is more critical than ever. By investing at the seed and pre-seed stages, the firm aims to secure lower entry prices and significant ownership stakes. This strategy has already paid off, with investments in companies like Clay, Harvey, n8n, Sierra, and Temporal yielding substantial returns amid the AI boom.
Sequoia is also pushing further upstream, targeting pre-seed opportunities to maintain its legacy as a top-tier investor. Recent first-check investments include security tester Xbow, AI reliability engineer Traversal, and DeepSeek alternative Reflection AI. These companies have since raised significant follow-on funding, with Sequoia playing a pivotal role in their growth. For example, the firm recruited a former Databricks CRO to Xbow’s board, connected Traversal with over 30 potential customers, and facilitated a meeting between Reflection AI and Nvidia’s Jensen Huang, resulting in a $500 million investment from the chipmaker.
Despite its storied history of backing companies like Airbnb, Google, Nvidia, and Stripe, Sequoia remains laser-focused on the future. To reinforce this mindset, the firm’s newly renovated office features a wall where every investor has handwritten a simple yet powerful reminder: “We are only as good as our next investment.”
For more information about Sequoia Capital please visit www.sequoiacap.com.
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