Sequoia Closes London Office and Ends Arc and Scouts in Return to Silicon Valley

The firm set out the changes on Wednesday in a memo titled "The Sequoia of Tomorrow", posted on X. It said it has raised about $10 billion in new funds, but did not say over what period. Sequoia is also shutting its Arc accelerator, ending its Scouts programme, merging its early-stage and growth investment teams, dropping its Monday partner meeting and flattening its partnership.

The London closure is a setback for Britain's effort to attract international venture capital to its technology and AI start-ups. Sequoia said the decision did not reflect on the people involved. "This is not about the team — they are excellent," the firm said. "We simply don't see the need for a local presence." It said Europe would keep producing "outlier founders and companies" and that it could support them from the Bay Area.

Sequoia opened in London in 2020 and hired Luciana Lixandru from Accel to lead its work in the region. By 2023 the London investment team had six partners, City AM reported. According to TechCrunch, Lixandru, Sequoia's first European partner, turned down a move to San Francisco but remains a partner and will keep her board seats.

The firm is the latest big US investor to leave London. Andreessen Horowitz closed its London office last year, and Coatue closed its office there in 2024.

UK start-ups raised $23.7 billion in venture capital last year, up 33% on 2024, and London accounted for almost three-quarters of that, City AM reported. Foreign investors supplied 74% of UK venture funding in 2025, which leaves the market exposed when firms such as Sequoia pull back their local teams.

Inside Sequoia, the memo argues that about 20 years of expansion, including growth outside the US, added layers of hierarchy. The firm previously separated its China and India and Southeast Asia businesses, which now operate independently as HongShan and Peak XV. "Our objective function is not scale, but quality," the memo said. It also acknowledged the risk: "It is scary to break something that's already working just fine."

Seven general partners now run the firm: co-stewards Alfred Lin and Pat Grady, along with Andrew Reed, Shaun Maguire, Konstantine Buhler, Sonya Huang and David Cahn, according to TechCrunch. Stephanie Zhan has left to start her own firm, and Jess Lee is now listed as chief product officer, an operating role. Carl Eschenbach rejoined as a full-time partner in March.

The programmes being cut were early-stage routes into the firm. Arc, launched in March 2022, ran cohorts of pre-seed and seed founders. The Scouts programme, which dates to around 2009, gave founders and operators small cheques to invest on Sequoia's behalf.

The overhaul follows a leadership change. Roelof Botha was voted out as senior steward last autumn and cut ties with the firm this summer, around the time he joined SpaceX's board, TechCrunch reported.

Sequoia did not say how many people would leave in London or when the office would close.