The 2024 Forbes Midas List has arrived, spotlighting the top investors shaping the venture capital sector. This year, Forbes recognized eight alumni whose strategic investments have not only advanced their firms but also helped grow the next generation of tech giants. To qualify, investors were judged on their portfolio companies that either went public or were acquired for at least $200 million or doubled their valuation to $400 million or more in the last five years. Join us in celebrating the achievements and impact of our leading venture capital alumni.
Meet the alums
Roelof Botha stands at the helm of Sequoia, guiding the firm's U.S. and European ventures. His investment portfolio boasts notable successes such as Evernote, Eventbrite, Unity, and MongoDB, which has a market cap of $17.6 billion. In 2023, Roelof sharpened Sequoia’s focus on AI, directing over 60% of investments towards AI and machine learning startups, including pioneering seed-stage bets in Meeno and Mindy. Roelof led Sequoia’s support for Elon Musk's acquisition of Twitter.
Philippe Botteri is the maestro leading Accel’s AI, cloud applications, and security portfolio. Philippe's knack for spotting unicorns has led to triumphant tales like the $35 billion IPO of UiPath. His portfolio includes DocuSign, Melio, and newly minted AI unicorn Synthesia. Before Accel, Philippe crafted cloud strategies at Bessemer, where he invested in standouts such as Cornerstone OnDemand, Eloqua, and Criteo.
Adeyemi Ajao de Miguel is the co-founder and Managing Partner at Base10 Partners, the first Black-led venture capital firm to reach $1 billion in assets. Adeyemi has led investments in transformative startups like Nubank, Figma, and Instacart and is a founding investor in Cabify and Jobandtalent (co-founded by fellow alum Felipe Navío). He also launched a startup acquired by Workday, creating Workday Ventures. A committed advocate for diversity, Adeyemi collaborates with organizations like Code2040 and Black Venture Capital Consortium to improve inclusivity in tech.
Ann Miura-Ko is refining the art of venture capital with a white-glove approach, propelling early-stage startups toward remarkable success. Her strategic investments include standout successes like Lyft, which delivered a 10,000x return at its IPO, and Refinery29, which was acquired for $400 million. Ann’s selective investment strategy, focused on partnering with 3-5 companies each year, has nurtured pre-product market fit startups like SmarterDX, TerraDot, Roo, and Polygence. Committed to fostering diversity within the venture capital sector, Ann also co-founded AllRaise, an organization devoted to enhancing the influence and presence of female funders and founders.
Justin Niu is a leading figure in Chinese venture capital with an impressive portfolio across a spectrum of sectors, including big data, cloud computing, AI, enterprise services, consumer tech, and healthcare. Justin spearheaded IDG's early investments in DEEPEXI and participated in its growth phases. He also led successful bets on AI powerhouse Sensetime, software giant Kingsoft, and industrial leader China Steel Network. Additionally, Justin's investment in Everstring, an AI-driven B2B provider, culminated in its acquisition by ZoomInfo for $575 million in 2020.

Jeremy Philips is well-versed in the art of nurturing successful startups. His journey began in the dotcom era of the 1990s when he co-founded and led the Australian online media company ecorp to a successful IPO in 1999. Today, he is plying his experience as a startup founder and tech executive to discover game-changing tech innovators for Spark Capital. Since Spark Capital tapped him to develop a growth fund in 2014, Jeremy has made big investments in standout companies such as Affirm, Slack, autonomous vehicle leader Cruise, and the writing software Grammarly. Before joining Spark, Jeremy was the CEO of Photon Group and served as EVP at News Corporation, where he focused on digital strategy and acquisitions.

Marc Stad is the managing partner behind Dragoneer Investment Group, a San Francisco-based firm managing over $23 billion in assets. Since founding Dragoneer in 2012, Marc has grown the firm’s portfolio with notable investments, such as Airbnb, Spotify, and DoorDash (founded by fellow alum Tony Xu). Marc led the largest U.S. insurance services deal of 2016, with a $2.6 billion leveraged buyout of AmWINS, securing his position as its largest outside shareholder. Before entering the world of venture capital, Marc made history as the youngest Commissioner in San Francisco.

Allen Zhu has a keen eye for identifying high-potential early-stage internet, mobile, and new media ventures that have the potential to revolutionize daily life. As a Managing Director, Allen led GSR to become one of the first firms to back Chinese rideshare company DiDi Chuxing, now a $24 billion juggernaut. He also led investments in HotMaxx and Lanhu, valued at $1.25 billion and $1.1 billion respectively. Before his tenure at GSR, Allen co-founded eBaoTech.