Former Sequoia Partner Matt Miller Raises $355m For New Fund — With Sequoia’s Backing

Former Sequoia partner Matt Miller has already locked successful $355 cardinal for his caller VC firm, Evantic, which is besides backed by Sequoia, TechCrunch learned.

Last December, Miller announced his departure from Sequoia aft 12 years to “start [his] ain money focused connected nan awesome founders of Europe.” 

Despite nan European focus, TechCrunch’s knowing is that Evantic will really put connected some sides of nan Atlantic, pinch a attraction connected B2B companies astatine nan Series B and maturation stages. However, its activities will beryllium conducted from London, wherever Miller moved from California successful 2021.

Before moving to nan U.K., Miller had already spearheaded Sequoia’s description into Europe and yet joined Sequoia’s European agency successful London, wherever he worked alongside its first local hire, Luciana Lixandru, who remains there.

Sequoia connected Monday declined to remark connected Miller aliases nan caller fund.

Miller’s fundraising has exceeded expectations. Initial reports indicated that Miller was raising $300 million for this caller venture. Sources adjacent to nan matter now corroborate the Financial Times’ newer report that nan target is $400 cardinal and that Sequoia is participating arsenic a constricted partner. TechCrunch has reached retired to Sequoia for confirmation.

Specifically, Miller’s caller patient has secured $350 cardinal from outer sources, per a U.S. regulatory filing; Evantic has besides received $5 cardinal successful soul commitments and is successful nan process of closing nan remaining $45 cardinal from founders and different members of nan startup ecosystem, sources show TechCrunch.

Miller’s departure appears to stem chiefly from a grounded powerfulness play astatine portfolio institution Klarna. Not agelong earlier announcing his exit, Miller had reportedly tried and grounded to oust former colleague Michael Moritz from nan committee of nan buy-now-pay-later behemoth. Sequoia soon aft apologized for supporting nan effort and gave Miller’s committee spot to different partner.

At nan aforesaid time, broader tensions were surfacing wrong Sequoia complete partner Shaun Maguire, whose views person proven divisive some internally and among portfolio founders. Wunderlist laminitis Christian Reber, 1 of nan first Sequoia-backed founders successful Europe, expressed his disagreement backmost successful January pinch Maguire complete nan German far-right statement AfD earlier this year. Miller and Lixandru besides distanced themselves from nan views supported by Maguire, who has since past made much arguable comments.

Despite nan Klarna incident, Miller appears to support bully relations that Sequoia, arsenic evidenced by nan firm’s information arsenic an LP successful his caller venture. Miller besides remains a task partner astatine Sequoia and continues to correspond nan patient connected respective boards.

During his clip astatine Sequoia, Miller worked intimately pinch companies including Confluent, dbt Labs, Docker, Grafana, Graphcore, Hex, and Tessian. He besides overlapped pinch longtime Sequoia worker Spencer Hemphill, who near earlier Miller did and is now reportedly Evantic’s CFO.

While technically a U.S. fund, Evantic will now subordinate nan ranks of cross-Atlantic task firms including Index Ventures and Northzone, nan second of which said it was “doubling down connected nan transatlantic.” It will besides beryllium akin successful size to nan $348 million that nan Norrsken Foundation, established by Klarna’s founder, is investing successful European startups that usage “AI for good.”