Venture Capital/News/ Sequoia snags its third European partner The new hire forms part of the US fund's plans to double down on Europe, having set up a London office earlier this year. By Isabel Woodford 17 May 2021 \Venture Capital January’s hottest seed rounds By Sadia Nowshin 3 February 2023 Venture Capital/News/ Sequoia snags its third European partner The new hire forms part of the US fund's plans to double down on Europe, having set up a London office earlier this year. By Isabel Woodford 17 May 2021 Famed US VC fund Sequoia has hired a third partner in Europe as it looks to spread its roots in the continent. The fund has snagged Anas Biad from Silver Lake, a rival VC fund, to help build out its European portfolio — according to the firm’s website. Biad will be based in Sequoia’s new Marylebone offices in London, Sifted has heard, and will seek out early-stage companies from across different sectors. He’s the latest hire bought on to cement Sequoia’s status locally. The fund is already one of the top-performing VCs in Silicon Valley, counting Stripe, YouTube, Airbnb and WhatsApp among its best bets. Yet of Sequoia’s 1000+ investments, just over 20 have been in Europe to date — including Klarna. Anas Biad, Sequoia’s latest European recruit Last year, Sequoia announced it had hired Luciana Lixandru as its first-ever partner in Europe; a rising star it snagged from Accel. “It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity. It’s just very different from anything I’ve ever done before,” Lixandru told Sifted in November. “Establishing a presence from the ground, that is very unique. And candidly, that’s why it was so exciting. It’s a challenge.” Read our brunch with Sequoia’s Luciana Lixandra It then hired George Robson, a former product lead at Revolut, on top of building out a network of European ‘scouts’. Sequoia’s Matt Miller is also relocating to Europe in the summer to help steamroll its expansion here. In an interview with CNBC last year, the fund said it wanted its next hire to be somebody relatively fresh out of university with “an investment background.” According to his LinkedIn profile, Biad graduated with a degree in Mathematics in 2016 from Paris’ Ecole Polytechnique, before joining Bain as a management consultant. He then joined US fund Silver Lake in March 2019. In a tweet on Monday, Biad said: “After spending two wonderful years at Silver Lake, I’m happy to share that I’m joining Sequoia as a partner. I’m incredibly excited to work with the team to support exceptional founders across Europe, in their journey to building legendary companies from the ground up.” Lixandru tweeted: “Simply thrilled to welcome Anas to our team. We knew from our first meeting that he would fit right in!” Isabel Woodford is Sifted’s fintech correspondent. She tweets from @i_woodford and coauthors our new fintech-focused newsletter. Sign up here. Related Articles The slow rise of intersectional VC — and why it’s important Sponsored by Morgan Stanley Click here to read more 2020: The year in data By Bill Leaver Click here to read more Danny Rimer on layoffs, crypto and why Index wouldn’t do a sector-specific fund By Amy Lewin Click here to read more Balderton raises new $400m fund to invest in more European heavy-hitters By Amy Lewin Click here to read more Most Read 1 \Startup Life Tech Nation shutting down as UK government controversially pulls key funding 2 \Healthtech Spotify founder Daniel Ek officially launches new startup — and this time, he’s taking on healthcare 3 \Fintech Monzo revenues surge more than twofold, putting it on track for 2023 profitability 4 \Consumer Glovo lays off 6% of staff following fresh fine from Spanish government 5 \Startup Life Meet the UiPath alumni starting their own companies
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