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A former Sequoia Capital Associate who left the Silicon Valley agency after a bitter boardroom battle at Klarna is about to launch a $400mn UK-based enterprise capital fund.
Matt Miller has been elevating cash from institutional traders in latest months, in accordance with individuals acquainted with the strikes, looking for to change into one of many best-funded solo traders centered on backing European tech start-ups.
He has already secured not less than $355mn from institutional traders, in accordance with one of many individuals acquainted with the matter, whereas aiming to succeed in a remaining fund measurement of round $400mn that will even embody backing from entrepreneurs.
Miller left Sequoia earlier this 12 months however continues to symbolize the agency on sure boards, in accordance with these acquainted with the matter. In March, UK company filings present Miller created a brand new entity known as Evantic Capital. Sequoia is collaborating within the fund, individuals acquainted with the deal added.
He beforehand spearheaded Sequoia’s enlargement into Europe, serving to open the agency’s London workplace in 2020. Nevertheless, he introduced he would go away Sequoia final 12 months after being embroiled in a boardroom battle at Klarna, the Swedish buy-now, pay-later group.
Miller joined Klarna’s board at the beginning of 2024, and initiated a transfer to take away Klarna’s board chair and former Sequoia chief Michael Moritz. Sequoia managing accomplice Roelof Botha had backed Miller’s transfer, however the agency then aborted that effort, and Miller as a substitute left his submit on the Klarna board.
Miller’s new London-based fund will give attention to backing know-how start-ups in areas together with synthetic intelligence and know-how infrastructure at center phases of improvement or so-called collection B investing.
The fund will probably be one of many largest VC companies based mostly in Europe run by a single enterprise capitalist, and can also be one of many sector’s largest new launches in a troublesome fundraising market.
Different latest giant launches have included final 12 months’s debut of the brand new European enterprise capital agency Noteus, which the Monetary Instances reported was looking for to boost not less than €600mn to again native start-ups.
Miller joined Sequoia from Goldman Sachs in 2012, and backed start-ups together with dbt Labs, Grafana and UK chipmaker Graphcore which was offered to SoftBank final 12 months.
Europe has typically been seen as lagging the US relating to producing main tech start-ups.
Nevertheless, the market has been buoyed by a crop of comparatively new AI corporations comparable to Lovable, Mistral, Synthesia and DeepL — in addition to defence tech group Helsing, which have raised funds at multibillion-dollar valuations.
Miller and Sequoia declined to remark.
