How Klarna’s boardroom spat exposed a schism at Sequoia Capital

Sequoia Capital is seeking to close a schism between its past and present leaders, after an extraordinary boardroom battle involving Silicon Valley’s most storied venture firm and its former boss Michael Moritz. This week, Sequoia partner Matthew Miller left the board of Swedish fintech company Klarna, after a failed attempt to unseat its chair Moritz, a near 40-year Sequoia veteran who led the firm’s bets on Google, PayPal as well as Klarna. The effort to move against Moritz had the backing of Roelof Botha, Sequoia’s current chief, according to multiple people with direct knowledge of the dispute. Days later, Botha reversed course and backed Moritz. “It is a complete fiasco,” said one person with knowledge of the incident. “There are questions about Miller and serious questions about Sequoia’s leadership and how they let this happen.” The fight is a rare public demonstration of tensions at Sequoia, which has painstakingly built a reputation for quiet competence and investing nous. It

Sequoia Capital is seeking to close a schism between its past and present leaders, after an extraordinary boardroom battle involving Silicon Valley’s most storied venture firm and its former boss Michael Moritz. This week, Sequoia partner Matthew Miller left the board of Swedish fintech company Klarna, after a failed attempt to unseat its chair Moritz, a near 40-year Sequoia veteran who led the firm’s bets on Google, PayPal as well as Klarna. The effort to move against Moritz had the backing of Roelof Botha, Sequoia’s current chief, according to multiple people with direct knowledge of the dis