Sequoia Capital Operations, LLC [1],[3] doing business as Sequoia Capital or simply Sequoia, is an American venture capital firm headquartered in Menlo Park, California. It specializes in seed stage, early stage, and growth stage investments in private companies across technology sectors.[4][5] As of January 2025, the firm had approximately US$56 billion in assets under management (AUM).[6]
Sequoia was founded by Don Valentine in 1972 in Menlo Park, California, at a time when the state’s venture capital industry was just beginning to develop.[10][11][12][13][14] Sequoia formed its first venture capital fund in 1974,[11][15] and was an early investor in Atari the next year.[16][17][18] In 1978, Sequoia became one of the first investors in Apple.[17][19][20] Partners Doug Leone and Michael Moritz assumed leadership of the firm in 1996.[16][21]
In 1999, Sequoia established a dedicated investment fund for Israeli startups.
| Sequoia Israel Fund I | Regional – Israel | 1999 | $145M | [137] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sequoia Israel Fund II | Regional – Israel | 2001 | $150M | [138] |
| Sequoia Israel Fund III | Regional – Israel | 2004 | $200M | [139] |
| Sequoia Israel Fund IV | Regional – Israel | 2008 | $200M | [140] |
| Sequoia Israel Fund V | Regional – Israel | 2012 | $215M | [141] |
In July 2025, Sequoia partner Shaun Maguire stated that Zohran Mamdani, a Muslim American New York City mayoral candidate, “came from a culture that lies about everything” and seeks to advance “his Islamist agenda”.[45][46] That statement was denounced as bigoted and Islamophobic.[47][48] However, Maguire denied any bigoted instead—he emphasized a distinction between Islamism and Islam.[49] In response, 600 founders of tech startups signed an open letter to Sequoia, asking Sequoia to adopt “a zero-tolerance policy on hate speech and religious bigotry.”[45] In August 2025, Sequoia’s COO, Sumaiya Balbale, who is open about the influence of her Muslim faith on her career, resigned after five years with the company over Maguire’s posts after other senior partners declined to take action against Maguire on the basis of free speech.[50][51]
Brown University shooting
After the 2025 Brown University shooting, Maguire spread a conspiracy theory on social media inaccurately identifying a Palestinian student at Brown University as the perpetrator.[35] Maguire said there was “very strong evidence” that this student was the shooter, and inaccurately claimed that an MIT professor who was also killed was targeted because he was Jewish. A different individual, Claudio Manuel Neves Valente, was subsequently identified as the shooter. Maguire then deleted his posts on the shooting.[36]
Personal life
In 2018, Maguire [3] married his Iranian Jewish wife in Israel and subsequently added Cohn to his last name.[9]
Klarna
Klarna Group plc [4] is a Swedish financial technology company and digital bank. Founded in 2005 in Stockholm, Sweden, Klarna provides digital payments, short-term consumer credit, cards, banking services and merchant tools for online and in-store commerce. It is listed on the New York Stock Exchange and is best known for buy now, pay later payment products.[1][2][3]
Founding and early years
Klarna was founded in 2005 by Sebastian Siemiatkowski, Niklas Adalberth and Victor Jacobsson after the founders developed an idea for simplifying online payments.[2] The company was initially known as Kreditor and was supported by SSE Business Lab, the Stockholm School of Economics’ start-up incubator.[5][6] The early business idea centered around allowing consumers to receive goods before paying by taking on the role of credit and fraud risk for merchants.[2]
Expansion, acquisitions and banking license
In 2010, Sequoia Capital invested in Klarna.[10] In 2011, Klarna was listed by The Daily Telegraph among Europe’s promising young technology companies.[11] In May 2011, Klarna acquired Analyzd, an Israeli company specializing in online payments, risk management and fraud prevention.[12] Later that year, General Atlantic led a $155 million investment round, joined by DST Global, to accelerate international expansion.[13]
Products and business model
Klarna’s original model was built around invoice-based payment after delivery. In this model, the consumer could complete a purchase without entering card details and pay after receiving the goods, while Klarna processed the payment and took on part of the merchant’s credit and fraud risk.[2] Historically, the company’s services included products such as Klarna Invoice, Klarna Account, Klarna Checkout and Klarna Direct; these product names and local implementations varied by country and over time as the company broadened its banking and payment offerings.[39]
Regulation and controversie
In Sweden, the Swedish Consumer Agency contacted Klarna in 2014 after complaints that customers had received reminder fees and debt collection communications without first receiving an invoice; the agency also examined credit fees connected to partial payments.[49] In Germany, the District Court of Bremerhaven ruled in 2022 that Klarna could not charge a flat €1.20 fee for an email reminder where it had not shown corresponding costs.[50][51]
Privacy, data and AML
In February 2020, German privacy specialists reported an autofill data issue at Klarna in which third parties could access address data, dates of birth and telephone numbers when they knew a customer’s email address and postal code; the report said Klarna instructed merchants to turn off the autofill function temporarily.[55] In May 2021, a technical incident in the Klarna app allowed some users to view data belonging to other customers for a short period. Klarna attributed the incident to human error, while Finansinspektionen later opened an investigation into a possible breach of bank secrecy rules.[56]
In March 2022, the Swedish Authority for Privacy Protection imposed an administrative fine of SEK 7.5 million on Klarna Bank AB for shortcomings in its privacy information. In March 2024, a Swedish administrative court of appeal upheld the fine.[57][58] In December 2024, Finansinspektionen issued Klarna Bank AB a formal remark and an administrative fine of SEK 500 million for violations of Swedish anti-money laundering regulations, citing deficiencies in general risk assessment and customer due diligence procedures.[59][60]
Fraud and scams
Media reports have described identity theft and fraud cases involving buy now, pay later services, including Klarna. The BBC reported in 2021 on a consumer who received a Klarna bill for a purchase she said she had not made, and CNBC reported that fraudsters had targeted BNPL providers including Klarna, Afterpay and Affirm.[66][67] In 2019, Swedish media reported that Siemiatkowski had been called to a government meeting following criticism related to identity theft and consumer debt.[68]