Burgeoning streamer and distributor MUBI has issued a response to backlash over its ties to Sequoia, a Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm.
Sequoia, which recently gave MUBI a $100 million funding round, had also made a $10 million investment in the defense company Kela, which founded by four Israeli intelligence veterans in July 2024. A funding round facilitated by Sequoia also led to an additional $60 million in May, and Kela now has a $100 million total investment.
The backlash to this investment was fueled on social media by an X post from user @atlajala, who wrote “time to add @mubi to the BDS [Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions] list, they are now funded to the tune of 100 million by zionist venture capitalists Sequoia Capital who are actively engaged in military support of the genocide, and some of the investors themselves are settlers on occupied Palestinian land.” Film Workers for Palestine also responded in a social media post, saying it was “horrified” and demanded the investment be returned.
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On June 14, MUBI posted on Instagram defending the partnership with the 50-year old Sequoia, which has also invested in companies such as Apple, Google, and Nvidia, and in a statement it noted that Sequoia’s was but one of many sources it has used for capital. MIUBI was recently valued at $1 billion.
“Over the last several days, some members of our community have commented on the decision to work with Sequoia given their investment in Israeli companies and the personal opinions expressed by one of their partners,” the post read in part. “The beliefs of individual investors do not reflect the views of MUBI.”
MUBI has been around — first under the name The Auteurs in Turkey — since 2007, mostly as a niche streaming service. In 2014, founder/CEO Efe Cakarel explained the company’s arthouse vibe.
“If Michael Bay had a film he wanted to show on MUBI? The answer is no. That’s when you start losing the brand,” Cakarel told Screen Daly. “That’s when the Coen brothers and Paul Thomas Anderson leave MUBI. ‘Transformers 4’ was a bad film. We say it loud and clear.”
Buoyed by the success of last year’s “The Substance,” the company has become an unexpected major player at the box office and during awards season. In May, MUBI went on a buying spree at the Cannes Film Festival, picking up — among other films — “Die My Love” with Jennifer Lawrence for a hefty $24 million price tag.
MUBI has streamed Palestinian films, movies made by Palestinian filmmakers, and features about Gaza on its platform.
Read the full statement from MUBI below:
Since our founding, MUBI has raised money from a number of sources to help us grow. Our decision to work with outside investors has always served one purpose: to accelerate our mission of delivering bold and visionary films to global audiences. This was the rationale behind our recent partnership with the venture firm Sequoia Capital.
Sequoia has a 50-plus year history of partnering with founders to help turn their ideas into world-changing businesses. Sequoia’s investments span a range of founders, industries, and geographies. We chose to work with Sequoia because the firm, and our Sequoia Partner Andrew Reed, support MUBI’s mission and want to help us scale and bring great cinema to even more people around the world.
Over the last several days, some members of our community have commented on the decision to work with Sequoia given their investment in Israeli companies and the personal opinions expressed by one of their partners. The beliefs of individual investors do not reflect the views of MUBI.
We take the feedback from our community very seriously, and are steadfast in remaining an independent founder-led company.
