Sequoia China founding and Managing Partner Neil Shen Photograph by Vivek Prakash/Fortune Brainstorm Tech International

According to a Reuters report, The Chinese arm of VC firm Sequoia Capital is set to lay off as much as 20% of its investment staff due to a drop in the country’s tech sector that’s lowering the bar of appetite for risk. Citing two people with knowledge of the matter, Reuters says Sequoia China is looking to decrease the number of venture investment professionals from about 70. Two other cited sources said the cuts would affect at least 10%.

Sequoia China currently employs about 150 people in offices across China. The VC firm was launched by Ctrip co-founder Neil Shen in 2005 and has backed the likes of ZTO Express, Meituan-Dianping, DJI, BGI, VIP.com, Didi, JD.com, Sonnet, Headlines Today, Ele.me, and Betta Pharma. It has invested in more than 500 companies in China since inception.

Didi Chuxing co-founder and CTO Bob Zhang. Sequoia China is an investor in Didi Chuxing, the top Chinese ride-hailing company valued at $56 billion (according to CB Insights data). Photo by Seb Daly / RISE via Sportsfile

Last year, Sequoia China raised a $150 million fund to make early-stage bets on Chinese companies. Reuters says the VC firm’s relatively young seed and late-stage investments team have been less affected by the layoffs so far.

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