The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on the 22nd (local time) that Sequoia Capital of the U.S. called fund investors and apologized for losing $150 million from its investment in the cryptocurrency exchange FTX.
Sequoia’s partners reportedly called fund investors and said they believed they were deceived by FTX, promising to improve due diligence procedures in other investments in the future.
Sequoia is a famous venture capital company well-known for investing in big tech companies such as Apple, Google, and Airbnb from the beginning, and it lost all of its investment in the company earlier this month after a massive withdrawal caused an FTX liquidity crisis.
In a phone call with investors, Sequoia said it will also allow large accounting firms classified as “Big Four” to audit the financial statements of early-stage startups in the future.
Sequoia also conducted due diligence on FTX, but explained in the phone that FTX founder Sam Bankman-Frid misled them about the relationship between the company and its affiliate Alameda Research.
FTX has been under fire after it was revealed that it secretly lent its customers’ money to Alameda, which lost billions of dollars.
Sequoia’s disclosure of its plan to strengthen the screening of companies subject to investment seems to reflect on its hasty decision to invest without properly examining FTX’s problems due to the virtual currency craze.
Last year, when the enthusiasm for virtual currency investment reached its peak, FTX attracted $2 billion in venture investment, but critics point out that traditional monitoring procedures such as supervision through external boards were ignored.
Sequoia and other shareholders have asked FTX for a board position, but Bankman-Freed has rejected the request because it has “too little stake,” officials familiar with the matter told the WSJ.
