Sequoia Capital China Launches Yue for Early-Stage Startups
Lv Qian
DATE:  Aug 15 2022
/ SOURCE:  Yicai
Sequoia Capital China Launches Yue for Early-Stage Startups Sequoia Capital China Launches Yue for Early-Stage Startups

(Yicai Global) Aug. 15 -- The Chinese arm of American venture capital giant Sequoia Capital has formed a new accelerator program to cultivate fresh startups in the Asian country.

YUÈ is designed to be the "first lesson for Chinese entrepreneurs" who are in the stages of angel to Series A round of financing, the Beijing-based VC firm announced today. Founding Managing Partner Neil Shen leads the program whose courses are taught by the firm's partners.

Sequoia Capital China has formed seven incubators in four Chinese cities in the past three years, covering digital intelligence, enterprise services, industrial technology, and genomics. Some 35 companies have joined the incubators, 18 of whom has a value exceeding a certain scale. Four firms will join soon.

YUÈ aims to help entrepreneurs cultivate their business skills to improve their odds of success. The program invites partners from the firm's offices in the United States, Europe, India, and Southeast Asia to offer their insights. Moreover, it will host chief executive officers from companies that have market capitalizations exceeding USD10 billion to share their experiences, Yicai Global learned.

YUÈ is important for Sequoia Capital China as it helps it transition to become a service partner from a capital-oriented investor, said Guo Shanshan, a partner who is working on the program. The establishment of Sequoia Capital China Seed Fund in 2018 indicated that Sequoia Capital China began to invest more time and resources in the early stages of startups, Guo added.

The landscape of early investments is expanding this year. There are some structural changes in the VC industry because of fluctuations in the market but no huge changes, another partner Su Kai said.

In the current market environment, VC firms must prudently look for excellent entrepreneurs in China to invest in through the journey from seed stage to initial public offerings, offering the best returns, Su added.

Formed in Silicon Valley in 1972, Sequoia Capital has invested in many technology giants such as Apple, Google, Yahoo, and LinkedIn as their first institutional investor. The company has funds in the US, China, and India.

Editors: Shi Yi, Emmi Laine, Xiao Yi 

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Keywords:   Sequoia