USA: Sequoia Venture Fund under pressure over Partner's remarks about Muslim politician

About 600 representatives of the technology and investment industry signed an open letter demanding that the venture capital firm Sequoia Capital condemn the statements of the fund's partner Sean Maguire directed against the Muslim politician Zohrab Mamdani. The reason was Maguire's statement on the social network X, where he accused Mamdani of promoting an "Islamist agenda" and said that he " comes from a culture that lies about everything."

Mamdani is the winner of the Democratic primary in New York and a candidate for mayor. He describes himself as a democratic socialist and has previously drawn criticism from the business community and the tech industry.

Maguire's post received more than 5.3 million views, causing a wave of resonance in business and technology circles. He later posted a video explaining his position and said that attempts to silence him would have the opposite effect. He declined to comment on his business relationship with Mamdani.

The signatories of the appeal demand that Sequoia formally apologize to Mamdani and Muslim entrepreneurs, as well as launch an independent investigation into Maguire's behavior over the past two years. Other requirements include the formalization of a zero tolerance policy for religious intolerance and a public declaration of the relevant principles. The letter states that if there is no response, the signatories will launch a public campaign involving the media and business networks by July 14.

Among the signatories of the letter are founders and CEOs of companies in the field of artificial intelligence, fintech and transport technologies. Some of them represent startups that Sequoia itself has previously invested in.

The Foundation did not make an official comment on the open letter. Maguire also refrained from engaging in substantive dialogue, citing freedom of speech and his political beliefs. It is known that earlier he publicly announced donations in favor of the election campaign of Donald Trump.

Sequoia partners have previously demonstrated political activism: one of the fund's former managers supported the Republican Party and the current US president, while another, who left the company, criticized such behavior and warned of threats to the reputation of the technology sector.

The current managing partner of the foundation stated that the organization does not adhere to a political line and provides partners with freedom of expression of individual views. However, the situation with Maguire has increased internal and external pressure on the fund. In the context of increasing polarization in American society, the question of the limits of freedom of expression and responsibility for corporate reputation is once again coming to the fore for the largest players in the field of venture capital investments.