Which venture capital firm was one of YouTube's largest early investors?

Sequoia Capital was one of YouTube’s largest early investors.

The venture capital firm invested in YouTube before Google bought the company, helping provide the money and credibility needed while the service was scaling quickly. Sequoia partner Roelof Botha became closely associated with the investment and later oversaw the firm’s involvement in YouTube.

Sequoia’s role is part of a larger Silicon Valley story. Founded by Don Valentine in 1972, the firm built a reputation for backing young technology companies with enormous growth potential. Its earlier investments included Apple, Cisco and Oracle, while later notable investments included Google, YouTube and other major internet businesses.

The investment is sometimes confused with Google’s later purchase of YouTube. They were separate events: venture capital supported YouTube during its startup phase, whereas Google acquired the entire company in 2006 for approximately $1.65 billion. Sequoia therefore backed YouTube early, before it became a Google product.