\n<\/p>\n
The Trump administration has begun taking direct equity stakes in American companies, not as temporary crisis measures, as in 2008, but as permanent fixtures of industrial policy.<\/p>\n
The moves raise interesting questions, including what happens when the White House appears on a cap table.<\/p>\n
At TechCrunch Disrupt in San Francisco last week, Sequoia Capital\u2019s global steward Roelof Botha fielded exactly that query, and his response drew knowing laughter from the packed house: \u201c[Some] of the most dangerous words in the world are: \u2018I\u2019m from the government, and I\u2019m here to help.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Botha, who describes himself as \u201csort of libertarian, free market thinker by nature,\u201d said that industrial policy has its place when national interests demand it. \u201cThe only reason the U.S. is resorting to this is because we have other nation states with whom we compete who are using industrial policy to further their industries that are strategic and maybe adverse to the U.S. in long term interests.\u201d In other words, China\u2019s playing the game, so the U.S. has to play along.<\/p>\n
Still, his discomfort with government as co-investor was unmistakable during his appearance. And that wariness extends beyond Washington. In fact, Botha sees troubling echoes of the pandemic-era funding circus in today\u2019s market, though he stopped short of using the word \u201cbubble\u201d on stage. \u201cI think we\u2019re in a period of incredible acceleration,\u201d he offered more diplomatically, while also warning about valuation inflation.<\/p>\n
He told the audience that, on the very morning of his appearance, Sequoia had debriefed about a portfolio company whose valuation soared from $150 million to $6 billion in twelve months during 2021, only to come crashing back down to Earth. \u201cThe challenge you have inside the company for the founders and the team, [is] you feel as though you\u2019re on this trajectory, and then you end up being successful, but it\u2019s not quite as good as you hoped at one point.\u201d <\/p>\n
It\u2019s tempting to keep raising money to maintain momentum, he continued, but the faster a valuation climbs, the harder it can fall, and nothing demoralizes a team quite like watching a paper fortune evaporate.<\/p>\n
Techcrunch event<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSan Francisco<\/span> His advice for founders navigating these frothy waters was two-pronged: if you don\u2019t need to raise for at least twelve months, don\u2019t. \u201cYou\u2019re probably better off building because your company will be worth so much more 12 months from now,\u201d he said. On the other hand, he added, if you\u2019re six months from needing capital, raise now while the money\u2019s flowing, because markets like the one we\u2019re in can sour quickly.<\/p>\n Being the sort of person who studied Latin in high school (his words), Botha reached for classical mythology to drive the point home. \u201cI did read the story of Daedalus and Icarus in Latin. And that stuck with me, this idea that if you fly too hard, too fast, your wings may melt.\u201d<\/p>\n When founders hear Botha opine on the market, they pay attention, and understandably so. The firm\u2019s portfolio includes early bets on Nvidia, Apple, Google, and Palo Alto Networks. Botha also kicked off his Disrupt appearance with news about Sequoia\u2019s two newest investment vehicles<\/a>: new seed and venture funds that give the firm $950 million more to invest and are \u201cessentially the same size as the funds we launched six, seven years ago,\u201d said Botha onstage.<\/p>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tOctober 13-15, 2026<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n