Sequoia's restructuring under Lin and Grady strains ties with Roelof Botha, who joined the SpaceX board, FT reports

What's the deal? The Financial Times reported on 8 November that Sequoia's recent changes under stewards Alfred Lin and Pat Grady, including closing its London office, merging its early-stage and growth teams and ending its Scouts programme, amount to an effort to undo the legacy of former steward Roelof Botha, who stepped down from the role last year. One FT source said Botha "loved process and hierarchy" while the rest of the team did not; another said the changes look like an erasure of Sequoia's heritage, not of Botha's legacy.

The SpaceX board seat: The relationship reportedly deepened after Botha joined the board of SpaceX this summer. Botha and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk worked together at PayPal. An FT source said Sequoia's partners were blindsided by the appointment and that Botha did not seek compliance or partnership sign-off, even though the board role could complicate the firm's ability to trade its roughly $20 billion SpaceX stake.

The response: A Sequoia spokesperson said the firm continues to collaborate closely with Botha.

Sources: TechCrunch summarising the Financial Times report.