- Sequoia Capital plans to raise about $10 billion in new capital, which would be its biggest commitment in 54 years, according to Bloomberg.
- Alfred Lin and Pat Grady, who took over from Roelof Botha five months ago, are leading this effort.
- This move comes after Sequoia raised a $7 billion fund in April and renewed its investment in Anthropic starting in January.
Alfred Lin first suggested investing $1 billion in Anthropic, but his partners pushed for a bigger commitment.
After a debate in a Silicon Valley conference room one Monday in May, Sequoia Capital decided to commit about $10 billion in new capital. According to Bloomberg Businessweek, this is the largest commitment in the firm’s 54-year history.
This marks the first major capital move led entirely by Lin and Pat Grady, who became co-stewards after Roelof Botha stepped down in November 2025.
How Sequoia went from a $1 billion proposal to its biggest commitment yet
Sequoia was previously hesitant to invest in Anthropic, choosing to back OpenAI and xAI instead. In January 2026, the firm changed course and joined a funding round that grew from a $10 billion target to over $20 billion at a $350 billion valuation, along with Singapore’s GIC and Coatue Management.
Since then, Anthropic has continued to grow. By June, it raised a $65 billion Series H at a $965 billion valuation, with Sequoia, Altimeter Capital, Dragoneer, and Greenoaks leading the investment.
Anthropic’s fast growth nearly tripled its valuation in just five months. This prompted Sequoia to boost its commitment far beyond Lin’s original $1 billion idea.
Sequoia launches a second mega-fund in just four months
The $10 billion commitment comes after Sequoia raised a $7 billion fund in April to support its expansion in the US and Europe. That fund was almost twice as large as its previous $3.4 billion fund closed in 2022. It was also the first major fundraising effort led by Lin and Grady. By the end of last year, Sequoia managed more than $80 billion in assets.
Sequoia’s fundraising aligns with a broader trend of large AI-focused funds. Founders Fund closed $6 billion, Khosla Ventures targeted $5.5 billion, and Kleiner Perkins closed $3.5 billion across two vehicles.
Iconiq Capital, another major Anthropic backer, is raising its eighth fund. General Catalyst is reportedly seeking about $10 billion. This trend indicates that firms are concentrating capital in fewer, larger rounds rather than distributing it across many smaller investments.
Sequoia is still backing early-stage investments. In October 2025, it launched a $950 million early-stage and seed fund. The firm has also maintained smaller investments, such as leading a $1 billion round for nuclear startup Valar Atomics earlier this month. The $10 billion commitment adds to, rather than replaces, its early-stage efforts.
New leaders take charge amid old rivalries
Lin joined Sequoia in 2010 and led investments in Airbnb, DoorDash, and Kalshi. Grady has managed growth-stage investing since 2015, co-leading Sequoia’s early investment in OpenAI with Lin and Sonya Huang, and supporting companies like ServiceNow, Harvey, and OpenEvidence.
They were appointed after internal disagreements at Sequoia over the firm’s political and cultural direction under Botha, who was more cautious about investing too much capital in the highest-valued startups.
Their decision to invest in Anthropic, despite existing stakes in OpenAI and xAI, departs from the traditional venture capital practice of avoiding direct competitors. Sequoia’s decision to add Anthropic to its portfolio marks a shift from its usual approach to managing conflicts among portfolio companies.
The big question now is what $10 billion can actually accomplish in a market where AI valuations already factor in years of expected growth. Sequoia’s new leaders are betting that large investments can still make a difference. Only time will tell if this strategy pays off.
