Sequoia’s first European partner, Luciana Lixandru, has built a résumé that includes board seats at Stripe and early bets on Deliveroo, UiPath and Vinted. A former Morgan Stanley analyst, she joined Accel in London in 2011 before moving to Silicon Valley to co‑lead Sequoia’s global early‑stage fund. Her cross‑border network gives her a unique scaling perspective.

Lixandru argues Europe has graduated from proving $10bn unicorns to chasing generational, even trillion-dollar businesses. She cites repeat founders emerging from exits and talent‑rich scale‑ups such as France’s AI‑first fintech Pennylane and the voice‑AI venture Eleven Labs, both founded by ex‑Palantir engineers. These firms draw multi‑million rounds, showing confidence.

The shift matters for capital allocators: investors now chase companies that can sustain multi‑year growth rather than chase fleeting valuations. Lixandru notes that U.S. firms are targeting Europe earlier, accelerating cross‑border deals and pushing local talent to compete on a global stage. Europe’s next wave will likely produce the continent’s first trillion-dollar champion and reshape the continent’s tech narrative.