Sequoia partner Shaun Maguire posted on X that DEI "was the most effective KGB operation of all time." After Maguire spread a false conspiracy theory in August 2025 misidentifying a Palestinian student as the Brown University shooter, Sequoia's COO Sumaiya Balbale, a practicing Muslim, resigned citing the remarks as "Islamophobic." Roelof Botha publicly defended Maguire's comments afterward.