Back to John Gapper's Business Blog homepageAll does not appear to be well in the venture capital industry, to judge by the move by Sequoia Capital, one of Silicon Valley’s most prominent investment firms, to broaden its business to include everything from shares to property.
That follows shifts by two of the UK’s longest-established venture capital firms - 3i and Apax Partners - away from early stage investing and towards buy-outs of established companies.
Sequoia’s move would make it look more like one of the private equity firms, such as Blackstone and Carlyle, which have raised funds to invest in all kinds of assets. Property investment has been Blackstone’s highest-return business.
But the fact that Sequoia may follow is a big symbolic shift. Under its lead partners Michael Moritz and Doug Leone, it has been an early investor in many of the biggest Silicon Valley successes of recent years, including Google, Yahoo and YouTube.
If even Sequoia is feeling the need to diversify, what does that mean for the rest of the venture capital industry?
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