Sequoia Capital merges teams, shuts London office and scraps Arc accelerator in major refocus

A shift back to Silicon Valley

Sequoia Capital is scaling back its global footprint after two decades of expansion, closing its London office and discontinuing programs introduced during that period. The firm’s Arc accelerator, launched in March 2022 to compete with Y Combinator, and its Scouts program, which began around 2009 and connected the firm to startups like Uber and Stripe, are both being shut down. The London office, opened in 2020, is also closing as Sequoia recentralizes its operations in Silicon Valley.

Partnership structure overhauled

The firm is merging its early-stage and growth teams into a single unit and flattening its partnership structure. The traditional Monday partner meeting, a long-standing practice, has been eliminated. Sequoia now operates with seven general partners—Alfred Lin, Pat Grady, Andrew Reed, Shaun Maguire, Konstantine Buhler, Sonya Huang, and David Cahn—who collectively own and manage the firm.

Roelof Botha, formerly a senior steward, has fully exited the firm and joined SpaceX’s board. Luciana Lixandru, who joined from Accel in 2020, remains a partner but will focus on European founders without relocating to San Francisco. Carl Eschenbach, previously a partner at Sequoia, has returned full-time, while Stephanie Zahn left to launch her own firm. Jess Lee transitioned from partner to chief product officer.

What this means

Lazyfounder analysis — our interpretation, not reported fact.

Sequoia’s moves signal a deliberate retreat from the multi-geography, multi-program model that defined its last 20 years. For founders, this means fewer entry points: the Scouts network and Arc accelerator are gone, and the London office is closed. The merged early-stage and growth team could simplify deal flow but may also reduce specialization in how the firm evaluates startups at different stages. The flattening of the partnership—removing the steward layer—suggests faster decision-making but less clarity on who ultimately owns a deal or a portfolio company’s relationship.

Key takeaways

• Founders in Europe lose a local Sequoia office but retain access through Luciana Lixandru, who remains a partner.
• The end of the Scouts program removes a path for angel investors and operators to introduce startups to Sequoia.
• The merged teams may speed up funding decisions but could also reduce the firm’s granularity in stage-specific investing.
• The elimination of Monday partner meetings may accelerate internal alignment but weakens a forum for cross-portfolio learning.

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