Sequoia Capital

What Sequoia Capital does

Sequoia Capital is a private venture capital firm founded in 1972 by Don Valentine and headquartered in Menlo Park, California. It invests across the full lifecycle of technology companies — pre-seed, seed, early, and growth — and operates through three related business entities: Sequoia Capital (the flagship venture franchise), Sequoia Heritage (a wealth management and evergreen fund vehicle serving founders and limited partners), and Sequoia Capital Global Equities (a public equities investment strategy). The firm maintains a 30+ partner bench split between Seed/Early and Growth mandates and a global footprint spanning the Americas, Europe (UK, Germany, France, Nordics), Greater China, India, and Greece.

The firm deploys capital using a concentrated, high-conviction model, leading or anchoring mega-rounds such as Anthropic's $65 billion Series H (2026) and Stripe's anchor positions across multiple tender offerings up to a $159 billion private valuation. Sequoia complements capital with structured founder support programs: the Arc bi-annual open call for pre-seed/seed founders, the four-day Arc Intensive workshop covering product-market fit and company-building modules, the Ampersand digital hub with 200+ exclusive partner benefits (up to $500k NVIDIA savings, $350k Microsoft Azure credits, $250k Cloudflare credits, $30k Anthropic/Vercel credits), and a proprietary jobs marketplace. The firm also operates a content and research platform — including the Training Data, Long Strange Trip, and Crucible Moments podcasts and published perspectives such as 'The Arc Product-Market Fit Framework', '2026: This is AGI', 'The $10 Trillion AI Revolution', and 'Services: The New Software' — that doubles as founder sourcing and limited-partner marketing.

The business model follows standard venture economics: management fees (approximately 2% of committed capital) on continuously raised Seed/Early and Growth funds, plus carried interest (typically 20-30% above a hurdle) on realized exits. Sequoia has backed 800+ companies across stages (123 Pre-Seed/Seed, 166 Early, 351 Growth, 70 Acquired, 99 IPOs), with marquee realizations including Apple (1978), Google, NVIDIA, Airbnb, WhatsApp, YouTube, PayPal, Stripe, and SpaceX (June 2026 IPO delivered estimated $20-29 billion in gains). The firm does not publicly disclose fund sizes, AUM, management fees, or revenue.

Name

Sequoia Capital

Legal name

Sequoia Capital

Website

https://sequoiacap.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1972

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Sequoia Capital is a 50+ year-old private venture capital firm headquartered in Menlo Park that invests across all stages — pre-seed to growth — in technology companies, having backed 800+ founders including Apple, Google, NVIDIA, SpaceX, Stripe, and Anthropic, while operating adjacent Heritage and Global Equities entities.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Venture Capital

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (52394)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Sector-Focused Venture Capital (Vertical Specialists) (FSANAAAD)

Keywords

• Venture capital investing
• Seed stage funding
• Growth equity investment
• Founder partnership programs
• Portfolio company management

Headquarters

HQ city

Menlo Park

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Fund Management Fees: Standard VC industry model where Sequoia charges limited partners (LPs) an annual management fee (typically ~2% of committed capital) on its venture funds across Seed/Early and Growth stages. Sequoia has continuously raised new funds for over 50 years.
2. Carried Interest: Performance-based share of fund profits (typically 20-30% of returns above a hurdle rate) earned when portfolio companies exit via IPO (e.g., SpaceX, Airbnb, NVIDIA) or acquisition. Sequoia has realized extraordinary returns from SpaceX (~$20-29B stake), Stripe (anchored multiple transactions up to $159B valuation), and others.
3. Evergreen Fund Structure: Sequoia Heritage operates as an evergreen fund structure providing continuous liquidity to legacy LP investors while maintaining the firm's position across major portfolio transactions (e.g., Stripe tender offers).
4. Public Equities Investment Management: Sequoia Capital Global Equities (SCGE) is a separate business entity managing public equities exposure for the firm.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Core offering

Sequoia Capital is a private venture capital firm that invests in technology companies from pre-seed through growth stages in exchange for equity, deploying capital raised from institutional limited partners into funds across Seed/Early and Growth mandates. The firm also operates the Arc open-call program for early-stage founders, the Ampersand digital hub providing exclusive benefits and network access to portfolio companies, the Sequoia Heritage evergreen wealth vehicle, and Sequoia Capital Global Equities for public market exposure.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Sequoia Heritage: Wealth management and heritage fund vehicle serving Sequoia founders and limited partners, with its own website at schf.com
• Sequoia Capital Global Equities
• Sequoia Arc
• Sequoia Ampersand
• Long Strange Trip
• Training Data
• Crucible Moments

Products and services

• Sequoia Capital Venture Funds (Seed/Early and Growth) Multi-stage venture capital fund vehicles (Seed/Early and Growth) that invest institutional LP capital into technology companies from pre-seed through growth stages in exchange for equity. Capital is deployed across 800+ portfolio companies producing 99 IPOs and multiple trillion-dollar outcomes.
• Sequoia Arc (Open-Call Program and Arc Intensive) Bi-annual open-call program plus a four-day Arc Intensive workshop for pre-seed and seed stage founders. Provides application-driven access to Sequoia partnership, 1:1 partner sessions, and a structured curriculum on company building, customer discovery, product, GTM, and product-market fit.
• Sequoia Ampersand (Founder Benefits Platform) Digital hub and benefits platform providing Sequoia portfolio founders with self-serve company-building resources, content, and 200+ exclusive partner benefits including cloud credits, AI tooling credits, and infrastructure savings. Also includes the Builder community for talent and customer introductions.
• Sequoia Heritage (Evergreen Fund Vehicle) Evergreen wealth management and heritage fund vehicle that delivers continuous liquidity to legacy LP investors and maintains Sequoia's position across major portfolio transactions. Functions as the firm's evergreen capital pool alongside the standard fund vintages.
• Sequoia Capital Global Equities (SCGE) Public equities investment management strategy operated as a separate Sequoia business entity, distributing public market exposure to institutional and accredited investors and complementing the venture capital fund business.
• Jobs at Sequoia Companies Marketplace Self-serve online jobs marketplace for Sequoia portfolio companies to post open roles and for candidates to discover and apply to positions across the Sequoia-backed ecosystem.

Quantifiable outcome

• SpaceX IPO delivered Sequoia ~$20-29 billion in returns on stake worth $20B+ at IPO
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers20 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Haidian District Government / Zhongguancun ForumcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSequoia China signed ecosystem partner agreement (alongside Hillhouse Capital, Matrix Partners, GGV Capital, GSR Ventures, Zhenzhi Capital) for the International Innovation Service Aggrarian Area at the AI Future Forum during Zhongguancun Forum Annual Conference (March 29, 2026). Seven investment firms also joined the 'Five-Party, Six-Force' collaborative mechanism.
• NVIDIA (Benefits Partner)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNVIDIA offers Sequoia founders up to $500k in savings as part of the Ampersand 200+ exclusive founder benefits program.
• Microsoft (Azure Benefits Partner)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMicrosoft Azure offers Sequoia founders up to $350k in credits as part of the Ampersand 200+ exclusive founder benefits program.
• Cloudflare (Benefits Partner)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCloudflare offers Sequoia founders up to $250k in credits as part of the Ampersand 200+ exclusive founder benefits program.
• Anthropic (Benefits Partner)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAnthropic offers Sequoia founders $30k in credits as part of the Ampersand 200+ exclusive founder benefits program.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves13 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Andreessen Horowitz (a16z): Largest direct competitor to Sequoia in US tech venture capital. Co-invests in many of the same mega-rounds (OpenAI, Anthropic, SpaceX-adjacent bets) and operates a similar partner-led, multi-stage model with an expanding operating platform (a16z crypto, bio, American Dynamism). The two firms are the closest comparables in franchise scale and brand.
• Accel: Tier-1 US venture capital firm with a comparable seed-to-growth model and a similar track record of breakouts (Facebook, Slack, Spotify). Direct competitor for the same founder talent pool and mega-rounds, particularly at the growth stage.
• Kleiner Perkins: Historic Sand Hill Road peer with parallel coverage of seed/early/growth stages. Direct co-investor alongside Sequoia in companies like Anthropic, Stripe, and Engram, and competes for board seats and allocation in the largest AI rounds.
• Benchmark: Iconic equal-partner venture firm with comparable brand prestige and early-stage focus. Co-investor in Decart ($4B) with Sequoia; competes for the same pre-seed/seed allocations and is widely viewed as a top-decile peer.
• Lightspeed Venture Partners: Multi-stage global venture firm that frequently co-invests with Sequoia (e.g., ElevenLabs Series D, Ineffable, Sandstone Series A, MITO AI). Comparable in scale and stage coverage, with strong franchises in AI, enterprise, and consumer.
• Founders Fund: Peter Thiel-led venture firm with a parallel thesis-driven, high-conviction approach. Co-led the €500M Stark Defence round with Sequoia and is co-invested in SpaceX (3%+ stake), SpaceX-adjacent defense, and AI bets. Direct comparable on culture and concentration.
• Greylock Partners: Long-tenured Sand Hill Road firm with an analogous seed/early growth model and enterprise-AI focus. Peer in the same founder pool and an established co-investor alongside Sequoia in growth rounds.
• Index Ventures: Transatlantic venture firm with a comparable multi-stage approach and similar portfolio overlap in AI and fintech (e.g., Ineffable, Adyen, Wise). Direct peer for founder-led US/Europe growth rounds.
• General Catalyst: Multi-stage venture firm with comparable global reach and a recent focus on AI infrastructure and defense. Co-invested with Sequoia in Engram ($98M) and competes for the same AI mega-rounds and growth-stage allocations.

Broad incumbents

• NEA (New Enterprise Associates): Largest venture firm by historical fund count, with broader sector coverage and a comparable multi-stage model. Co-investor with Sequoia in Factory AI ($150M Series C) and NinjaOne ($400M extension); broader incumbent with a more diversified portfolio strategy.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/sequoia
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@sequoiacapital
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/sequoia
• Facebookfacebook.com/SequoiaCap

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles15 records

Subsidiaries5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments2627 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Sequoia Capital