Sequoia Goes Even More Global In A Year Of Firsts

Editor’s Note: This is a repost of a TechCrunch article by Christine Magee.

Sequoia Capital has long been dominant in the U.S. venture scene (and more recently in Asia), topping the charts for most investments made worldwide and ranking 3rd for most exits of all time.

But lately, Sequoia has set its sights on breaking into new international markets. In the past year, the Silicon Valley veteran has closed more deals and invested more venture money into regions outside of its comfort zone than ever before.

The latest $100 million round raised by e-commerce marketplace Tokopedia last week marks Sequoia’s initial foray into Indonesia.

This is not the first time Sequoia’s entrance into a new region has been in the form of a big e-commerce bet. In May, Sequoia joined a group of existing investors to pour $100 million into Coupang in its first South Korea-based investment.

This year alone, the mega-VC has led or participated in 11 deals totaling $469 million in regions where it does not have a home base. Four of these deals mark Sequoia’s first investment in the country.

Last month’s target was Brazil, with a Series A round for São Paulo-based financial services startup Nubank alongside local investor Kaszek Ventures. In January, Sequoia backed Taipei-based marketing solution startup Appier, recording its first investment in Taiwan. And late last year, Sequoia made its first play in Germany to back cross-platform productivity app 6Wunderkinder.

With investments recorded across North America, Asia, Europe, and a couple in South America, it remains to be seen what region will be next. Africa, anyone?

Check out Graph Insights and the CrunchBase Investor Leaderboard to discover some of your own connections.

Photo via Flickr user Horia Varian.

  • Originally published October 27, 2014, updated April 26, 2023