Sequoia Capital

Sequoia was founded by Don Valentine in 1972 in Menlo Park, CA^[1] and today has offices worldwide to support its international portfolio of companies.

Sequoia Capital is a venture capital firm specializing in incubation, seed stage, start-up stage, early stage, and growth stage investments in private companies. It also invests in public companies. The firm seeks to invest in all sectors with a focus on services including financial services, healthcare, Internet, outsourcing, retail, and wireless; mobile; technology; software including application, infrastructure, data management, and wireless; systems including networking, infrastructure, security, and wireless; components including semiconductors with a focus on analog and mixed signal, networking, multimedia, and programmable and wireless components; and energy including alternative energy, conventional energy, energy efficiency, energy storage, and energy services.

The firm seeks to invest in companies based in the United States for early and seed stage investments. However, for growth stage investments, it does not limit its investments to any country and recent funds have been internationally focused.^[2] It invests between $100,000 and $1 million in seed stage, between $1 million and $10 million in early stage, and between $10 million and $100 million in growth stage. The firm prefers to invest in companies with an established revenue stream of $100,000 per month or greater.

 

Portfolio:

Sequoia invests in these sectors: Sequoia Capital's full portfolio can be seen on its website.

• Financial services

Within financial services, it invests in banking, brokerage, payments, and enabling technology.

• Healthcare

Within healthcare, the firm invests across diagnostic services, genetics services, lab services, patient services, product development services, and enabling technology companies.

• Internet

Within Internet, it invests in advertising, communications, ecommerce, games, media, search, social networking, and enabling technology companies.

• Mobile sector

Within the mobile sector, the firm invests in advertising, applications, devices and enabling technology companies.

• Outsourcing

Within outsourcing, it invests across business process outsourcing, hosting services, managed services, professional services and software development services.

• Technology

Within technology, the firm invests in semiconductor, sub-systems, systems, software, and services companies.

• Other

It also invests in optical components; computer, subsystems, and communication systems; and consumer and professional services.

Investments:
The firm's investments include Airbnb, Apple, Aruba Networks, Google, YouTube, PayPal, Instagram, Cisco Systems, Oracle, Electronic Arts, Yahoo!, NVIDIA, Lattice Engines, Navigenics, Cotendo, Atari, Ameritox, Kayak, Meebo, Admob, Knowlarity Communications, Zappos, Green Dot and LinkedIn.^[3] With its broad range of highly successful investments, Sequoia estimates that 19% of the NASDAQ’s value is made up of firms that they have invested in.^[4]