Sequoia Capital blindsided by Roelof Botha’s SpaceX board seat

A Financial Times report says partners never signed off on the former leader's move, which could complicate trading of the firm's roughly $20 billion SpaceX stake Sequoia Capital spent this week rearranging the furniture. Then the Financial Times reported that some of the rearranging looks a lot like erasing the previous owner’s fingerprints. The venture firm announced it is closing its London office, folding its early-stage and growth teams into one group, and ending its Scouts program. According to the FT, the shake-up reads as an effort to unwind the legacy of Roelof Botha, the former leader who stepped down as Sequoia’s steward last year. The sharpest detail is about SpaceX. A board seat nobody approved Botha joined SpaceX’s board as an independent director on June 16, 2026. That was four days after the rocket company’s record IPO on June 12, 2026. A source told the FT that Sequoia’s partners were caught off guard by the appointment. The reason was procedural, and in a firm that size, procedure matters. Botha “didn’t ask compliance, he didn’t get sign off from the partnership.” The stakes are not abstract. Sequoia holds about 1.5% of SpaceX, a position valued at roughly $20 bil...