Sequoia Capital plans to split off China business

United States venture capital giant Sequoia Capital announced plans on Tuesday to split off its Chinese as well as Indian and Southeast Asian businesses into two independent firms amid economic and geopolitical challenges.

According to a statement provided to China Daily, the firm - known for its early backing of Google and a group of leading Chinese internet companies like Alibaba Group Holding, JD and ByteDance - will brand its Chinese arm as HongShan, its Chinese pronunciation of Sequoia.

The Indian and Southeast Asian will be rebranded as Peak XV Partners while the US and European unit will remain as Sequoia Capital.

"It has become increasingly complex to run a decentralized global investment business," Sequoia said. "This has made using centralized back-office functions more of a hindrance than an advantage."

The split will be finished by March 31, 2024, said the statement signed by Sequoia managing partner Roelof Botha, China head Neil Shen, and India and Southeast Asia head Shailendra Singh.

chengyu@chinadaily.com.cn