Sequoia Capital raises $7 billion late-stage fund to double down on AI investment under new leaders

New leaders, new fund: Sequoia has raised $7B to expand its AI bets | TechCrunch

Few venture firms have bet more aggressively on AI than Sequoia Capital, and it isn't slowing down. The Silicon Valley stalwart has raised roughly $7 billion for a new fund, according to Bloomberg. Sequoia declined TechCrunch's request for comment. The money will go toward what the firm calls its "expansion strategy" -- essentially its late-stage investing arm, focused on the U.S. and Europe -- and it's nearly double Sequoia's last comparable fund, a $3.4 billion vehicle raised in 2022. That growth in fund size reflects something bigger: late-stage investing has taken on an entirely new meaning in the AI era. Companies can now scale at a speed and cost that would have been unimaginable a decade ago, and the firms backing them have to keep pace. The money signals where Sequoia sees the future: deeply embedded in AI, from the giants building the underlying technology to the startups putting it to work. The firm has backed two of the most prominent players in the AI race -- OpenAI originally and, more recently, Anthropic -- both of which are reportedly eyeing public listings in 2026. The development that could mean a significant payday for the firm. Sequoia isn't only swinging for the foundational AI heavyweights, however. It has also placed bets on other buzzy startups, including Physical Intelligence, the Bay Area robotics startup, and Factory, which builds AI agents for enterprise engineering teams. The fundraise is also the first major capital raise under Sequoia's new leadership, with Alfred Lin and Pat Grady now serving as co-stewards of the 54-year-old firm.

Sequoia raises $7 billion for its biggest-ever late-stage fund

The Silicon Valley institution has closed roughly $7 billion for its expansion strategy fund, nearly doubling its comparable 2022 vehicle. Alfred Lin and Pat Grady, who took over as co-stewards in November 2025, are making the raise their opening statement on the AI era. Sequoia Capital has raised approximately $7 billion for a new fund, according to Bloomberg, in what will be the firm's largest fundraise in this vehicle category and the first under a new leadership structure. The money will go towards Sequoia's "expansion strategy", its late-stage investing arm focused on the US and Europe, nearly doubling the comparable $3.4 billion fund raised in 2022. The scale of the raise reflects the structural shift that AI has brought to late-stage venture investing. The largest AI companies, OpenAI and Anthropic among them, are raising at a pace and scale that has no precedent in venture capital history, driven by the capital intensity of training frontier models and building the compute infrastructure to run them. Sequoia has backed both companies: it was an early investor in OpenAI, and in January 2026 joined an Anthropic round led by GIC and Coatue, breaking from the VC convention against backing competitors in the same sector. Both companies are reportedly eyeing public listings in 2026, which would represent a significant liquidity event for Sequoia. The new fund is the first fresh capital raise under Sequoia's new co-stewards Alfred Lin and Pat Grady, who succeeded Roelof Botha as joint managing partners in November 2025 after Botha was removed in a surprise vote. The leadership transition came during a period of significant internal turbulence, including the resignation in August 2025 of COO Sumaiya Balbale over the firm's handling of posts by a senior partner, Matt Maguire, which drew criticism from founders and led more than 600 to sign an open letter asking Sequoia to adopt a zero-tolerance policy on hate speech. Lin and Grady's "stewards" title reflects a model established by Sequoia's founder Don Valentine. Beyond the foundational AI companies, Sequoia has placed bets on a range of AI-adjacent startups including Physical Intelligence, the San Francisco robotics company that raised $400 million in late 2024, and Factory, which builds AI agents for enterprise engineering workflows. The firm's US and European operations are now separate from Peak XV Partners, the India and Southeast Asia entity, and from HongShan, the formerly affiliated China-focused business, following a 2023 restructuring that completed in 2024. The $7 billion expansion strategy fund covers US and European investments only. As of January 2025, Sequoia had approximately $56 billion in assets under management globally.

Sequoia's new leaders raise about $7 billion for firm's biggest bets - The Economic Times

Sequoia Capital, a major venture capital firm, has secured about $7 billion for a new fund, according to a report by Bloomberg. This significant capital will fuel expansion into artificial intelligence startups like OpenAI and Anthropic. The fund also targets late-stage investments in the US and Europe.Sequoia Capital, one of the largest and most prominent venture capital firms, has raised about $7 billion for a new fund according to people familiar with the discussions -- the first fresh fundraising under Sequoia's new leadership. The latest fund will allow Sequoia to expand its bets on large companies, including artificial intelligence startups like OpenAI and Anthropic, whose immense needs for expensive computing resources have driven record-breaking fundraising hauls. The $7 billion will be dedicated to the firm's so-called expansion strategy, which backs its latest stage investing in the US and Europe. It's roughly double the firm's last expansion fund: a $3.4 billion vehicle raised in 2022. The new fundraising took place earlier this year, said the people, asking not to be identified discussing private information. Sequoia declined to comment. The funding marks a new chapter for the firm under its current leaders. Last year, Roelof Botha handed the reins to Alfred Lin and Pat Grady, who are serving as co-stewards of the firm. In addition to expanding bets on AI giants, Sequoia has also recently shifted some of its investing roles. In March, Sequoia named former senior steward Doug Leone as chairman, bringing him back into an active investing role. It also recently added Liam Corrigan and Sonali Singh to its investing ranks. And it hired Carl Eschenbach, a former investor at Sequoia who had left the firm in 2022 to work as the co-CEO of Workday Inc. Meanwhile, several investors have stepped back from their positions at the firm: Those include Josephine Chen, Charlie Curnin and Cornelius Menke. Investor Ravi Gupta has reduced his role to launch a new startup, but remains a partner. The new fundraising also signals a focus on AI giants. Sequoia has already bet on many of the country's largest AI companies -- several of which directly compete. Its investments include Anthropic and OpenAI, as well as Musk's xAI, now part of SpaceX. All three companies are jockeying to go public in 2026, which could lead to significant returns for Sequoia if the public listings are a success. The new funding will also be used to back mature companies that aren't directly in AI-native businesses. For example, one of Sequoia's biggest exits was Wiz, a cybersecurity company that was sold to Alphabet for $32 billion, a deal that closed last month. The latest funds comes on top of the approximately $2.5 billion haul that the firm announced last year for seed, venture and growth-stage investments. Sequoia had more than $80 billion in assets under management as of the end of last year, according to a securities filing, making it one of the biggest VC firms in the country by assets under management. It's not the only firm adding billions to its balance sheet. Iconiq, a venture firm that has made significant investments into Anthropic, is currently fundraising for its eighth fund, according to people familiar with the matter and securities filings. Additionally, General Catalyst is in talks to raise about $10 billion in new funding, Bloomberg previously reported.

Sequoia Raises $7B Expansion Fund Under New Leaders to Back AI Startups

Sequoia Capital has raised about $7 billion for a new fund tied to its expansion strategy, according to Bloomberg. The fund will support late-stage investments in the United States and Europe. It is the first major fundraiser under the firm's current co-stewards, Alfred Lin and Pat Grady, and it comes as Sequoia continues to increase its exposure to artificial intelligence companies. The new fund is almost twice the size of Sequoia's comparable 2022 expansion vehicle, which raised $3.4 billion. The capital is set aside for the firm's late-stage investing arm, which focuses on larger private companies in the US and Europe. Sequoia declined to comment on the reported raise. The new pool of capital shows how has changed as AI companies raise larger rounds and stay private longer. Many AI firms now require large amounts of funding to support model training, data centre use, and computing needs. As a result, firms like Sequoia play a crucial role in backing companies through later stages. The fundraising also adds to the previous capital raised by Sequoia. The firm announced about $2.5 billion last year for seed, venture, and growth-stage investments. According to a securities filing cited in the provided material, Sequoia had more than $80 billion in assets under management at the end of last year.