Sequoia Capital founder Don Valentine handed approach at his residence in Woodside, Ca., right this moment at age 87 of pure causes.
Sequoia posted a tribute to Valentine shortly afterward, calling him “one of a generation of leaders who forged Silicon Valley.”
A local of New York, Valentine majored in chemistry at Fordham University earlier than becoming a member of Raytheon in South California, then shifting north to the Bay Area to work at Fairchild Semiconductor, the place over time, Valentine started investing his personal small checks into expertise firms that he was assembly. According to Sequoia Capital, he quickly attracted the eye of an early mutual fund group, Capital Group, which staked Valentine, permitting him to type a $three million enterprise fund in 1974. Among his first bets from that pool of capital: Atari and Apple. He later led the agency into quite a few different high-flyers, together with Cisco Systems.
Valentine proceed to steer Sequoia till handing over the reins properly earlier than retirement age to Doug Leone and Michael Moritz, although he continued attending accomplice conferences for one more 10 years. The companions have mentioned they have been blissful for his continued recommendation and steering — not that they all the time agreed with him.
In 2017, in line with the agency’s give attention to succession and guaranteeing easy transitions, accomplice Roelof Botha was made U.S. head of the agency working underneath Leone, who oversees the agency’s world operations with Neil Shen, the founder and managing accomplice of Sequoia Capital China. (Moritz stepped away for well being causes in 2012, although he has continued to stay actively concerned within the agency.)
Leone issued an announcement this afternoon about Valentine’s passing, writing: “We are deeply saddened to share that Don Valentine passed away on October 25, 2019. Don’s life is woven into the fabric of Silicon Valley. He shaped Sequoia and left his imprint not just on those of us who had the privilege to work with him or the many philanthropic institutions that invested with Sequoia, but also on the founders and leaders of some of the most significant technology companies of the later part of the twentieth century. Our thoughts are with Don’s wife, Rachel, with his family, and with all those inspired by his pioneering vision and indelible impact.”
Valentine selected the title Sequoia as a result of it “conveyed the longevity and strength of the tallest of redwoods,” based on the agency’s tribute right this moment to Valentine. The companions be aware, too, the “humility of someone who refrained from putting his own name on our business.”
Valentine is survived by his spouse; three kids; and 7 grandchildren, based on Sequoia.
Valentine joined TechCrunch at a Disrupt occasion again in 2013. He appeared together with one other pioneer of the enterprise trade, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers cofounder Tom Perkins . Perkins handed away in June 2016 at age 84.
