$950M Sequoia Capital Fund Aims To Back Next Amazon Of AI Era With Early-Stage Startup Investments Across Globe
Sequoia Capital announced on Monday two new early-stage funds worth a combined $950 million, aimed at backing young startups worldwide building technologies that could evolve into the next Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) of the AI era.
The new funds include a $750 million venture vehicle for Series A companies and a $200 million seed fund, according to TechCrunch. The launch comes amid an industry-wide rush toward artificial intelligence and follows two turbulent years for the firm.
Sequoia Capital Partner Bogomil Balkansky said the company’s strategy remains grounded in identifying exceptional founders with bold ideas. “Markets go up and down, but our strategy remains consistent,” he told TechCrunch, describing Sequoia’s goal to build companies that can endure across generations.
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Sequoia Capital faced substantial headwinds over the previous three years. The firm sustained a documented loss exceeding $200 million when cryptocurrency exchange FTX collapsed in late 2022, according to media reports. Additionally, Sequoia Capital separated its India and China operations in 2023 following a structural reorganization.
Prior to those developments, the venture company structured its portfolio operations in 2021 into an evergreen primary fund supplemented by strategy-specific subsidiary funds. This architecture enables Sequoia Capital to maintain equity positions in portfolio companies following initial public offerings, TechCrunch reported.
Sequoia Capital has historically achieved recognition for early-stage investments in now-dominant technology companies. The firm backed Airbnb (NASDAQ:ABNB), Google, Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA), and Stripe during their founding phases, a track record that informs the company’s current investment thesis regarding AI startups..
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“Our ambition has always been and continues to be to identify these founders as early as possible; to roll up our sleeves and be a very active participant in their company-building journey,” Balkansky told TechCrunch.
The company recently deployed initial capital into three companies that subsequently raised funding at substantially higher valuations, TechCrunch reported.
Sequoia Capital invested first in security testing platform Xbow, AI engineering firm Traversal, and AI alternative model Reflection AI. The firm recruited a former Databricks Chief Revenue Officer to Xbow’s board and facilitated introductions connecting Traversal with over 30 prospective customers, TechCrunch reported.
Sequoia Capital also arranged a meeting between Reflection AI leadership and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, resulting in a $500 million capital commitment from the chipmaker, according to media reports.
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Sequoia Capital’s existing seed and Series A portfolio has gained value during the ongoing technology investment cycle. The company’s early-stage holdings in Clay, Harvey, n8n, Sierra, and Temporal have experienced valuation increases, TechCrunch reported.
“We’re about to see a new world of consumer apps. Anytime there’s a platform shift, it opens up new dimensions in how people live,” Sequoia Capital Partner Josephine Chen said in the company’s statement.
Sequoia Capital’s office renovation includes a collective written statement highlighting its operational principles. Each investor wrote the phrase “We are only as good as our next investment” on a wall within the firm’s newly updated office space, according to TechCrunch.
Sequoia Capital said its new funds are designed to maintain long-term engagement with early-stage founders.
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