Matt Miller, a former partner at Sequoia, has already locked $355 million for his new VC company, Evantic.
Last December, Miller announced his departure from Sequoia 12 years later. [his] A unique fund focused on the great founders of Europe. ”
Despite the European focus, TechCrunch's understanding is that Evantic actually invests in both sides of the Atlantic, focusing on Series B and growth stage B2B companies. However, the activity will take place in London, where Miller moved from California in 2021.
Before moving to the UK, Miller was already leading the Sequoia expansion into Europe, eventually joining Sequoia's European office in London, where she worked with her first local employment, Luciana Rixandre.
Sequoia on Monday declined to comment on the Miller or the new fund. TechCrunch also contacted Miller directly.
Miller's funding exceeds expectations. The first report showed he was raising $300 million for this new venture. A source close to this issue supports a new Financial Times report that targets are $400 million and Sequoia is participating as a limited partner. TechCrunch contacted Sequoia for confirmation.
Specifically, Miller's new company has secured $350 million from external sources, following submissions from US regulators. Evantic also receives an internal $5 million commitment, and is in the process of closing the remaining $45 million from the founders of the Startup Ecosystem and other members.
Miller's departure appears to be largely due to a failed power play at portfolio company Kraruna. Shortly before he announced his exit, Miller reportedly hadn't tried to expel former colleague Michael Moritz from the shopping board right now. Sequoia apologised for supporting the attempt and handed Miller's board of directors to another partner.
At the same time, wider tensions were emerging within the Sequoia through his partner Sean Maguire. Christian Reber, founder of Wunderlist, was one of Europe's first founders of Sequoia support, and in January expressed disagreement with Maguire about the German far-right AFD. Miller and Lixandru also distanced themselves from the views Maguire supported.
Despite the Klarna incident, Miller appears to maintain a good relationship with Sequoia, as evidenced by the company's participation as the LP of his new venture. Miller is also a venture partner at Sequoia and continues to represent the company on several boards.
During her time at Sequoia, Miller worked closely with companies such as Confluent, DBT Labs, Docker, Grafana, Graphcore, Hex and Tessian. He also overlapped with longtime Sequoia employee Spencer Henhill.
Technically it's a US fund, but Evantic joins the ranks of transatlantic ventures, including Index Ventures and North Zone. It is also similar to the $348 million that the Norrsken Foundation, founded by the founder of Klarna, is currently investing in European startups that use “AI for AI.”