Silicon Valley investor shuts London office as US dominates AI

One of Silicon Valley's most successful venture-capital firms has shut down its London office as the US dominates a tidal wave of multibillion-dollar AI deals. Sequoia Capital, which opened a UK office in 2020 and hired a string of partners at the height of the post-pandemic tech boom, said it would cut jobs and shift its focus to the West Coast of America. The firm said: "We are closing our London office, which means several people will be leaving Sequoia. We simply don't see the need for a local presence." The venture-capital business, which has around $80bn (£60bn) in assets and is known for early investments in Apple and Google, said it was pulling back after an "expansionary phase" during which it opened offices around the world. It previously withdrew from its Chinese and Indian ventures, spinning them off into separate businesses focused on Asia. The firm said it would continue to invest in British and European founders with "world-class support from our home base in the Bay Area". Yet the decision represents a setback for Britain's AI ambitions and its attempts to attract major global investors. It comes as dealmaking in Silicon Valley reaches record levels as venture investors compete to sign cheques for promising AI labs. Total US venture funding has topped $500bn so far this year, already outstripping the $340bn raised in 2025. UK start-ups have also enjoyed a series of bumper funding rounds, with more than $23.4bn raised in 2026, according to DealRoom data. Yet the level of funding and the size of the UK start-up scene remains far smaller than the US. Sequoia's withdrawal from London followed a similar retreat by Andreessen Horowitz, which is led by Donald Trump-backing US billionaire Marc Andreessen, in 2025. The firm had set up in the City to pursue cryptocurrency deals before switching to the US after Mr Trump returned to power in 2025. Coatue, another US venture fund, also quit London in 2024. Sequoia had hired a series of marquee technology investors to lead its London branch. Yet some of its most successful UK investments were led by partners based in the US, such as an investment in $22bn AI voiceover business ElevenLabs. The venture firm, which was founded in 1972 by early Apple investor Don Valentine, underwent a major shift last year as Roelof Botha, the managing partner, was pushed out by other senior partners. Some of Sequoia's current London partners will move to the US with the firm. Luciana Lixandru, one of its senior London partners, said she would stay in Europe and remain a partner at the firm. George Robson, another London-based partner, said the firm had chosen to focus on the US "where the pace of change is extraordinary". Sequoia was previously chaired by Welsh-born billionaire Sir Michael Moritz, one of Silicon Valley's most prominent venture investors, before he stepped down in 2023. View Comments