Pillar VC vs Sequoia Capital

G5 Labs (Why We Invested)

Pillar VC announces a new investment in G5 Labs, dated September 15, 2026.

Profound raises $180M in Series D to build your AI Marketer

Profound raised $180M in Series D funding at a $1.8B valuation, co-led by Sequoia Capital and Kleiner Perkins, with participation from existing investors Lightspeed Venture Partners, Khosla Ventures, Saga Ventures, Evantic, and South Park Commons. The company builds its AI Marketer (Aim) platform to help brands produce and manage marketing content using shared context. More than 2,500 brands, including Walmart, Zoom, and Stripe, already use Profound. A live product demonstration is scheduled for September 30, 2026.

• Profound announced a $180M Series D round at a $1.8B valuation, co-led by Sequoia Capital and Kleiner Perkins.
• Existing investors Lightspeed Venture Partners, Khosla Ventures, Saga Ventures, Evantic, and South Park Commons participated in the round.
• On June 3, 2026, Cloudflare reported that bot traffic overtook human traffic on the web for the first time in history.

Sequoia shuts down Scouts program, marking end of an era

Sequoia Capital announced a broad overhaul, including the closure of its London office and the shutdown of its scout program. The firm pioneered the scouts model 17 years ago, where select founders and operators write checks on its behalf. Many VC firms followed suit, but a consensus is emerging that the model has reached its limits in its current form. Critics like VC Sheel Mohnot question the effectiveness of scouts, noting they may not care deeply about investments and can still miss key opportunities. Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) has revamped its own global scout network, giving fewer scouts more resources and expecting more active participation. Former Sequoia scout Roxanne Varza expressed sadness at the program's end, noting its role in fostering investment culture, especially in Europe. However, seasoned operators now may prefer angel investing for financial upside, and leading VC firms are well-known enough that founders come to them. The article suggests scout programs are likely to be revamped rather than disappear entirely.

• Sequoia Capital is shutting down its scout program as part of a broad overhaul.
• Sequoia also announced the closure of its London office.
• Sequoia pioneered the scouts model 17 years ago.

Sequoia Rewinds 20-Year Expansion, Shuts London Office

Sequoia Capital announced a major restructuring, reversing its 20-year expansion. The firm is closing its London office, shuttering its Arc accelerator and Scouts program, merging early-stage and growth teams, and flattening its partnership. It also raised approximately $10 billion in new funds. The moves aim to refocus on high-conviction venture investing in the Bay Area, with seven general partners now owning and operating the firm. The changes follow a year after a generational transition and come amid a broader trend of VCs consolidating in Silicon Valley.

• Sequoia Capital raised approximately $10 billion in new funds.
• Sequoia is closing its London office, which opened in 2020.
• Sequoia is shutting down its Arc accelerator and Scouts program.