Michael Moritz

01

Partner at Sequoia Capital since 1986, widely considered one of the most financially successful venture capital investors in history; landmark early-stage investments include Yahoo (1995 Series A), Google (1999 co-led with Kleiner Perkins at a pre-money valuation of $75M), PayPal, LinkedIn, and Stripe — investments whose aggregate returns are estimated to exceed $10B and represent some of the highest multiples in venture capital history. Moritz stepped back from day-to-day fund management in 2016 due to health issues but remained a partner.

02

Welsh-born (Cardiff, 1954) former journalist who covered Apple for Time Magazine in the early 1980s and wrote 'The Little Kingdom: The Private Story of Apple Computer' (1984) before transitioning to venture capital; his journalistic background informed an investment approach centered on founder character, organizational culture, and competitive dynamics rather than pure technical or financial evaluation — a methodology that identified Yahoo and Google at the earliest stages when technical merit alone did not differentiate them.

03

In 2015, Moritz attracted broad criticism after stating in an interview with Reuters that Sequoia had no women partners because 'we look at a staggering number of companies and we try to find the best; if there are fabulously bright, motivated women who are really interested in technology, we'd hire them.' He subsequently acknowledged the comment was 'hurtful and unhelpful' and that the technology industry's structural exclusion of women was a real and serious problem; Sequoia has subsequently hired women partners. The episode made Moritz a prominent example in discussions of structural gender barriers in venture capital.