FTX was a rare disaster for the storied venture firm, which has consistently remained a top VC since its founding in 1972. Sequoia told its investors two weeks ago it had written down the full value of its FTX investments.
Top partners at the powerful venture capital firm Sequoia Capital apologized to their investors in a conference call Tuesday for backing FTX, a pair of bankrupt cryptocurrency exchanges that had allegedly been mismanaged by Sam Bankman-Fried, according to people familiar with the meeting.
Roelof Botha, the firm’s global leader, opened the call, and he and his colleagues were repentant for backing the company, with investments totalling US$214 million in FTX.com and FTX.us across two funds. Alfred Lin, the partner who led the FTX deal, provided an update on the situation. Shaun Maguire, another partner who focuses on crypto, gave an overview of the sector, which was roiled by the scandal.
