Silicon Valley Venture Capital Redwood Capital Management Shakeup, Michael Moritz to Transition to Redwood Legacy

Sequoia Capital, a prominent Silicon Valley venture capital firm, announced in June 2023 that it had conducted a major split of its operations in China and India, and now it has announced that several partners are set to depart.

Key Partner Michael Moritz to Depart

Sequoia Capital was founded by Don Valentine in California in 1972. In the mid-1990s, Valentine handed over control of the company to Doug Leone and Michael Moritz. Now, Michael Moritz is set to leave Sequoia Capital after leading the firm for over three decades, to focus on the $15 billion wealth management fund he helped launch in 2010—Sequoia Heritage Fund.

According to a report by FT, Sequoia Capital managing partner Roelof Botha wrote in a letter to investors:

We are very grateful for Moritz’s contributions, which have helped make Sequoia Capital one of the world's leading technology investment groups.

The letter also outlined Moritz's plan to gradually step down from the company's board.

Risk Assets Decline Significantly from Last Year, FTX Investors Also Depart

Since its founding in 1972, Sequoia Capital has seen substantial returns by investing in numerous tech startups such as Apple, Google, YouTube, PayPal, and more. However, the firm has recently faced some troubles. Sequoia Capital was a major investor in the collapsed cryptocurrency exchange FTX, resulting in a loss of $213.5 million for the company. While the loss represents only a small portion of the fund's total cash holdings, it has still caused significant damage to the firm's reputation.

According to a report by Bloomberg, another senior partner, Mike Vernal, is also set to depart, along with other investors involved in the FTX investment, including Michelle Fradin, and partners Kais Khimji and Daniel Chen.

Based on documents submitted to the SEC, Sequoia Capital's total risk assets, separated from its traditional and hedge fund businesses, amount to $55.58 billion. This is slightly up from $53.29 billion in March but significantly down from the $85 billion reported in March 2022.