What is Sequoia?
Sequoia is a venture capital firm. Its partners have described an internal culture of asynchronous debate and divergent views, particularly on AI.
Company timeline
- Aug 2026 - Julien Bek said that Sequoia has no house view on AI, and that partners hold very different opinions.
- Aug 2026 - Julien Bek described an experiment where partners contribute asynchronously after a memo is shared, allowing anyone to call an IC for fast thinking, while asynchronous input suits slow thinking.
- Aug 2026 - Julien Bek noted that when presenting, if the audience is French or German, one adds one or two points; if American, one usually retracts one or two points.
Where it appears in the record
Every line below is attributed to a named speaker.
Julien Bek explains Sequoia's new async IC process: written async contributions capture slow thinking, while live IC meetings capture fast thinking, combining both modes before committing capital.
“We're experimenting with a new approach where we actually each have to contribute asynchronously after a memo gets shared and everyone can call up an IC if they want to get everyone's opinion. The reason for that is an IC is a great format for fast thinking. speaking asynchronously is great for slow thinking.”Julien Bek · 24 Aug 2026
Sequoia adjusts customer reference scores by culture: adding 1 to 2 points for French or German references and subtracting 1 to 2 points for American references, reflecting systematic national feedback-style differences.
“If they're French or German you add one or two points if they're Americans usually you want to retract one or two points.”Julien Bek · 24 Aug 2026
Sequoia has no unified house view on AI, with partners publicly holding contradictory positions.
“We actually have very different opinions. There's no house view on AI.”Julien Bek · 24 Aug 2026
A Sequoia partner messaging a CEO on LinkedIn gets a 9/10 response rate versus roughly 1/10 for a typical sales rep, illustrating the signal-to-noise gap in outbound.
“Nine out of 10 respond. Yeah. And they're like one out of 10.”Becca Lindquist · 2 May 2026