News Summary

At TechCrunch Disrupt 2025, Sequoia’s managing partner Roelof Botha presented a contrarian view on venture capital, arguing that it should not be considered an asset class. Botha explained that the venture industry is uncorrelated with other asset classes, and increasing investments in Silicon Valley do not necessarily result in the emergence of more successful companies. He emphasized that there are only a limited number of companies that truly matter, and excessive funding can dilute the quality of firms emerging from the industry. Botha highlighted that there are currently 3,000 venture firms in the United States, a stark increase from 1,000 firms two decades ago. Despite this growth, Botha expressed skepticism about the scalability of producing more billion-dollar outcomes merely through increased capital influx.