On July 4, Shaun Maguire, a partner at Sequoia Capital, posted on X that New York mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani “comes from a culture that lies about everything. It’s literally a virtue to lie if it advances his Islamist agenda.” This inspired more than 1,000 founders and tech executives to sign an open letter asking Sequoia to take a clear and public stance against Maguire’s rhetoric.
Contrary to what is generally regarded as crisis management best practice, Sequoia chose not to say or do anything. Sequoia’s COO, Sumaiya Balbale, a practicing Muslim step down in August after five years at the company. This week we learned that the public comment was cited as the direct trigger for Balbale’s resignation, which she privately characterized as resulting from an Islamophobic atmosphere.
More on this from Forbes: Sequoia Capital COO Quits After Partner’s Tweet About Zohran Mamdani.
What The Founders Are Demanding
The open letter has four key demands:
Immediate Public Condemnation & Apology
- Issue a statement unequivocally denouncing Maguire’s remarks as hate speech and anti‑Muslim bigotry.
- Apologize directly to Zohran Mamdani, to the wider Muslim founder community and to anyone else harmed by these comments.
Internal Disciplinary Action
- Commission an independent investigation into Maguire’s conduct over the past two years.
- Publicly disclose the investigation’s findings and specify the disciplinary measures, up to and including removal from client‑facing duties or partnership.
Binding Anti‑Discrimination Policy
- Publish a zero‑tolerance policy on hate speech and religious bigotry.
- Ensure “religion” is explicitly included as a protected characteristic in your code of conduct, with clear, enforceable consequences for violations.
Founder Safeguards & Reporting Mechanism
- Establish an independent “Founders’ Ombudsperson” or hotline, staffed by third‑party specialists, where any founder can confidentially report discrimination or hate speech by Sequoia personnel.
- Guarantee zero retaliation and full confidentiality for all reports.
Who Signed The Petition
At the time of writing, 1,179 people have signed the letter, representing 1,094 companies in total. Below are a few noteworthy highlights:
Hosam Arab
CEO & Co-Founder of Tabby
The MENA financial super app and another leader in Shariah-compliant Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) services. Founded in 2019, Tabby offers interest-free payment solutions and is expanding its financial ecosystem through the Tabby Card and Tabby Plus. The company has raised $604 million in equity, part of over $1.8 billion in total capital. Following a Series E round, Tabby achieved a valuation of $3.3 billion, positioning it as the Middle East’s most valuable VC-backed startup ahead of an anticipated IPO.
Abdulla Nadeem Elyas
Co-founder of Careem
Careem is the MENA region’s leading ‘everything app’ offering ride-hailing, food delivery, and payment services across 70 cities. Founded in 2012, Careem raised $772 million in funding and serve over 50 million customers. The company secured the region’s largest tech exit, valued at $3.1 billion USD in its 2019 acquisition by Uber. Dr. Elyas, who holds a Ph.D. in Business Administration, helped establish Careem’s technical foundations and now continues to influence the regional ecosystem as an active angel investor.
Abdulmajeed Alsukhan
CEO & Co-founder of Tamara
A pioneering Saudi Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) platform offering Sharia-compliant financial solutions across the MENA region. Tamara provides flexible, interest-free payment options and was the first Saudi fintech to achieve unicorn status in December 2023. The firm was also the first fintech to secure a full consumer finance license from SAMA. Tamara has raised approximately $556 million in equity funding and secured up to $2.95 billion in total capital, including a $2.4 billion facility backed by Goldman Sachs.
Husayn Kassai
CEO & Founder of Quench.ai
Quench is an AI assistant focused on enterprise learning, development, and knowledge sharing. Kassai previously served as CEO and Co-Founder of Onfido, a globally recognized identity verification startup which raised over $200m and in February 2024, Onfido was acquired for $650 million.
View the complete list here.
Forbes has reached out to several of the names on the above list, as well as Shaun Maguire and Sumaiya Balbale for a comment.
More on this from Forbes: Sequoia Capital COO Quits After Partner’s Tweet About Zohran Mamdani.