Sequoia's Support for Shaun Maguire
Roelof Botha, Sequoia's managing partner, defended his colleague Shaun Maguire's controversial comments.
During an interview at TechCrunch Disrupt 2025, Botha argued that the VC firm needs "spiky" people, implying that Maguire's comments are a manifestation of this quality.
Sequoia believes in its partners' right to "free speech."
Maguire's comments, which labeled New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani as an "Islamist" who "comes from a culture that lies about everything," sparked a significant online backlash.
- Sequoia has backed prominent companies like Airbnb, Google, Nvidia, and Stripe.
- The controversy raised questions about the reputational risk to the VC firm.
Author's summary: Sequoia defends colleague's free speech.