Key facts
- Sequoia said the overhaul aims at putting more energy behind fewer people and things.
- Sequoia pioneered the scout model 17 years ago, in which select founders and operators write checks on the firm's behalf.
- Andreessen Horowitz partner Gabriel Vasquez said the firm revamped its scout program to double down on the best people.
- Vasquez said scouts get more budget but the firm has reduced their number.
- Station F boss Roxanne Varza, a Sequoia scout from 2020 to 2025, said she was sad the program was getting cut off.
Sequoia announced a broad overhaul in a memo posted to X, a move that includes closing its London office and shutting down its scout program, according to a TechCrunch report dated November 7, 2026. In the scout model, select founders and operators write checks on the firm's behalf.
Sequoia did not make a case against scouts in the memo, instead framing the decision as part of a broader need for more focus, with the goal of putting more energy behind fewer people and things. Observers told TechCrunch it would be a mistake to read too much into the London closure, since the British capital has a thriving AI scene.
Sequoia pioneered the scouts model 17 years ago, and many venture firms followed amid increased competition for deal flow. Rival Andreessen Horowitz rolled out a global scout network aimed at spotting opportunities in the U.S. and smaller European hubs. Andreessen Horowitz partner Gabriel Vasquez told TechCrunch earlier this year that the firm had revamped its program to double down on the best people, with scouts getting more resources but expected to be more active, such as by co-hosting dinners with the firm. "They get more budget, but we have reduced the number," Vasquez said.
VC Sheel Mohnot wrote on X that the scout program never made sense to him. "The scouts themselves don't really care that much about the investments, you can still miss (like they did with Uber), not sure what it gets you," he wrote, adding that he suspects other firms will shutter theirs too.
Station F boss Roxanne Varza, a former Sequoia scout from 2020 to 2025, wrote on LinkedIn that she was sad to hear the program was getting cut off and hoped other funds would not follow suit. Varza told TechCrunch she had no information beyond what has been shared publicly, but observed that becoming a scout had often been a stepping stone for aspiring investment managers. "I believe they have helped to foster the investment culture and early-stage investment landscape that we now see in Europe, for example," she said.
Varza said venture partner-style deals are likely to continue. "Scouts was just a way to scale the format," she said. "I don't imagine Sequoia would end all forms of venture partners, but they are full of surprises."