The biggest name in Silicon Valley venture capital over the last half-century is Sequoia. And the biggest name in European fintech is Klarna.
These two heavyweights have been in the midst of a drama over the last few weeks that reads like an episode of Succession (without the family drama).
It is common knowledge that the two founders of Klarna, Sebastian Siemiatkowski and Victor Jacobsson, don’t see eye to eye. Former Sequoia partner and Silicon Valley billionaire Michael Moritz, an ally of Siemiatkowski, has been Chairman of Klarna since 2020.
What appears to have happened is that Jacobsson wanted him out and initially appeared to have the support of Sequoia and their top man in Europe, Michael Miller, who is (was) also on the board.
But now Sequoia has backtracked and indicated support for Moritz to stay on and now Miller is being replaced by another partner, Andrew Reed.
Phew. Sequoia first invested in Klarna in 2010 and has been a staunch supporter of the company even during its valuation collapse over the last couple of years.
These kinds of dramas usually happen behind closed doors but this one has played out in public and it is not a good look for such a venerable name in venture capital.
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