Sequoia Capital
Sequoia Capital is one of the oldest and largest venture capital firms, founded in 1972 and based in Menlo Park, California, backing technology companies from seed to growth across roughly $85 billion in assets. Water is not part of its thesis: as of 2026, (don't) Waste Water tracks just one water company, India's DrinkPrime, across two early deals.
Compiled by Antoine Walter, (don't) Waste Water, from official filings and direct intelligence in Leviathan.
The take
Sequoia Capital is the venture firm most other venture firms measure themselves against. Founded in 1972 by Don Valentine, it has backed Apple, Google, Airbnb, and Nvidia, and it manages on the order of $85 billion. This is a generalist technology fund, not a climate or water investor. As of November 2025 it is run by co-stewards Alfred Lin and Pat Grady, who took over the top job from Roelof Botha.
Sequoia's water footprint is, frankly, a rounding error. In my Leviathan database the firm shows up on a single water company, DrinkPrime, an Indian startup that rents out internet-connected water purifiers to households on a subscription, across two early rounds. Even that one bet did not really come from the Sequoia on this page. It arrived through Surge, the seed program of Sequoia's India and Southeast Asia arm, which split off in 2024 as an independent firm called Peak XV Partners.
Sequoia Capital is here for completeness, not as a water backer to pitch. The firm writes cheques where it sees category-defining technology companies, and water infrastructure has simply never been one of its themes. If you are raising for a water company, this is not your fund. The more useful read is that when a generalist this size does brush against water, it does so through a consumer-tech or software lens, a subscription purifier, not a treatment plant.
Water Commitment Score
Compiled from official filings, third-party records, and direct intelligence from investors and founders, in Leviathan · recomputed monthly · as of Jun 2026.
How they invest
Portfolio · 1 water companies
Invests alongside
Highlighted = profiled on (don't) Waste Water.
Frequently asked
- What does Sequoia Capital invest in?
- Sequoia Capital backs technology companies from seed through growth stage, with a generalist focus spanning software, the internet, AI, fintech, healthcare, and consumer products. Founded in 1972, it is best known for early bets on Apple, Google, Airbnb, and Nvidia. Water and climate infrastructure are not part of its core thesis.
- Does Sequoia Capital invest in water?
- Sequoia Capital invests in water only rarely. As of 2026, (don't) Waste Water tracks a single water company, DrinkPrime, an Indian subscription water-purifier startup, across two early deals. That exposure came through Surge, the seed program of the India arm now operating independently as Peak XV Partners. Its water commitment rates One-Off.
- Who runs Sequoia Capital?
- Sequoia Capital is led by co-stewards Alfred Lin and Pat Grady, who took over the senior leadership role in November 2025 from Roelof Botha. Both are long-tenured partners: Lin joined in 2010 from Zappos, and Grady has run the firm's growth-stage investing since 2015. The firm is based in Menlo Park, California.
- Is Sequoia Capital the same as Peak XV Partners or Sequoia India?
- No. Peak XV Partners is a separate, independent firm. It was Sequoia Capital's India and Southeast Asia business until a 2023 restructuring split the global partnership into three; from 2024 Sequoia (US and Europe), Peak XV (India and Southeast Asia), and HongShan (China) no longer share investors or profits.