The move comes as investment firms are increasingly looking to sell stakes in startups to return money to their own investors.

According to a report in The Information, citing sources, Social Capital tried to sell stakes in 258 companies in June this year. 

The stakes were worth $312 million in total based on the valuations at which the companies last raised money. It is not clear if the VC firm completed the sales.

Palihapitiya is a Sri Lankan-born venture capitalist who was an early senior executive at Facebook. He founded Social Capital in 2015 and has invested in several companies, including Yammer and Slack. 

He was also an investor in Twitter and was recently sent legal requests by the company related to its legal battle with Elon Musk.

The move by Social Capital to sell its stake in hundreds of startups is a sign of the changing times in the venture capital industry. As the market has become more volatile, investment firms are looking to reduce their risk by selling stakes in companies that have not yet achieved profitability. 

This trend is likely to continue in the coming months and years.