Which venture capital firm invested in Google, PayPal, and YouTube?

Sequoia Capital invested in Google, PayPal, and YouTube.

Founded in 1972 by Don Valentine, Sequoia became one of Silicon Valley’s most influential venture-capital firms. Its approach has traditionally focused on backing technically ambitious startups early, often before their products or markets were fully established. That strategy connected the firm to several companies that later reshaped the internet.

Sequoia backed Google during its early growth, when Larry Page and Sergey Brin were developing the search company. It also invested in PayPal, the online-payments business that emerged from the merger of Confinity and X.com. Roelof Botha, a former PayPal chief financial officer, later became a Sequoia partner and led the firm’s 2005 investment in YouTube.

The three-company combination is distinctive, but the wording can cause a subtle misunderstanding: Sequoia did not necessarily invest in all three at the same stage or through the same partner. YouTube received a reported $3.5 million Sequoia funding round in 2005 and was acquired by Google in 2006. Sequoia’s portfolio also includes companies such as Apple, Cisco, Oracle, and WhatsApp.