Startup founders and others in tech call on Sequoia Capital to act after a partner called Zohran Mamdani an 'Islamist'
Founders, tech workers, and business leaders are demanding that Sequoia take action in an open letter.
Maguire said his criticism of Mamdani was political, not religious or racial.
Sequoia Capital, one of the largest and oldest global VC firms, is facing pressure over a partner's online remarks.
Meanwhile, the partner at the center of the controversy appears to be doubling down amid the backlash.
Signatories self-identified as founders, investors, and tech workers have signed an open letter calling for Sequoia Capital to take disciplinary action against its partner, Shaun Maguire, after he called New York City mayoral Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani an "Islamist" on X.
"Mamdani comes from a culture that lies about everything," Maguire posted on X on July 4. He included a screenshot referencing The New York Times' reporting about how Mamdani marked his identity on a college application.
"It's literally a virtue to lie if it advances his Islamist agenda," Maguire wrote in a post.
Maguire's post was met with backlash on X, and the open letter appeared over the weekend. It demands a public apology from Sequoia, a formal investigation into Maguire's conduct, a zero-tolerance policy on hate speech, and the creation of a hotline for reporting discriminatory behavior. The letter gives Sequoia Capital until July 14 to respond.
"As founders building the future of technology, we cannot accept leadership from a firm whose partners engage in hate speech and spread bigotry," the letter states. "Maguire's conduct not only tarnishes Sequoia's reputation, it also undermines your ability to serve a global, diverse founder ecosystem."
Maguire has said that his criticism was political, not religious or racial, adding that "Islamist" was a political ideology and not the same as Muslim.
The letter has hundreds of signatures, though at least several of them appeared to be trolls using made-up or fake names. Some tech workers who self-identified as working for prominent companies such as Microsoft, Turo, Google, and Apple also appeared to have signed the petition.
The list includes some business leaders who have previously raised capital from Sequoia-linked funds. That includes Hosam Arab, CEO of Dubai-based fintech Tabby; Hisham Al-Falih, CEO of Lean Technologies; and Ahmed Sabbah, cofounder of Egyptian payments company Telda. They did not respond to requests for comment from BI but confirmed to Bloomberg that they had signed the letter.
Maguire has dug in amid the criticism, addressing the controversy in posts on X. He said that his critics "only embolden me" and that he has also received support from people reaching out.
"To the Haters and Losers, You cannot imagine how much Love and Support I've received over the last 48 hours," he wrote on X early Tuesday morning. "We have cancelled cancel culture."
Maguire said the letter's signatories were either "Marxists," "Pro-Palestine," or "Leftists."
"All of these groups want me cancelled because I'm a loud and effective voice," he wrote Tuesday morning.
Sequoia Capital declined to comment when reached by Business Insider on Monday. When previously reached by BI, Maguire also declined to comment but noted several follow-up posts he made in response to the backlash, including a 28-minute video he posted early Sunday morning defending calling Mamdani an Islamist. He has also criticized Mamdani's father, Columbia University professor Mahmood Mamdani, accusing him of "radical left-wing Islamism."
"To any Muslim that is not an Islamist, and to any Indian that took offense to this tweet, I am very, very sorry," he said in the video.
Mamdani's team did not respond to a request for comment.
The candidate has previously teared up when speaking with CBS News about the comments he gets, being the first Muslim to run for mayor of New York City.
"I get messages that say 'the only good Muslim is a dead Muslim,'" he said. "I get threats on my life, on the people that I love."
Mamdani, an outspoken critic of the Israel government, has been accused of anti-Jewish sentiment by some — accusations he has denied. He has declined to condemn the phrase "globalize the intifada" in interviews. When asked about it recently on NBC News' "Meet the Press," he said, "That's not language that I use."
This week, Mamdani came under fire over a 2024 post in which he reshared a 2015 music video by a Canadian comedy group that parodied Hanukkah. In response to the video, Maguire wrote on X that it "doesn't really bother me" and "I think people get offended too easily these days."
"But I think Mamdani is a master at hiding his true nature and people are underestimating him," Maguire added.
Mamdani's affordability-focused platform does not advance any religious ideals. He seeks to expand protection for the LGBTQ+ community, raise the minimum wage, and implement free childcare, among other initiatives.
Maguire has previously been vocal about politics and sparked controversy online. In 2024, he wrote in a lengthy post on X, saying that he donated $300,000 to get Trump elected as president shortly after Trump was convicted of falsifying business records, though he said at the time his political donations were personal and "did not reflect the views of Sequoia."
He also said late last year that he donated another $500,000 to the America PAC founded by Tesla CEO Elon Musk. In January, he called diversity, equity, and inclusion policies "structural racism" in another post on X.
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