Benchmark raises its first-ever growth fund as part of $2B capital haul

Source: TechCrunch

Benchmark Capital, the storied Silicon Valley VC firm known for early investments in eBay, Snap, Uber, and Twitter, is breaking with one of its signature traditions: keeping its funds to about $425 million and backing only young startups. After more than two decades of restricting its vehicles to that amount or lower, the outfit has closed on commitments of $2 billion across two new funds, including a $1.25 billion vehicle dedicated to later‑stage investments (Wall Street Journal).

Benchmark’s New Growth Fund

The $1.25 billion fund marks the firm’s first dedicated growth vehicle. It will make five to six large investments in both existing portfolio companies and new startups, according to a person familiar with Benchmark’s strategy. The companion $750 million early‑stage fund gives Benchmark more flexibility to write checks in an environment where early‑stage valuations have skyrocketed. While the firm has traditionally backed companies at the Series A stage, the new fund allows investments at other early stages of development.

AI Investment Track Record

Benchmark’s relatively small fund sizes have likely prevented the firm from investing in capital‑intensive AI startups, particularly foundation‑model makers whose rounds often reach hundreds of millions. Consequently, Benchmark has not invested in Anthropic, OpenAI, or other capital‑intensive AI labs such as Periodic Labs, Reflection AI, or Recursive Superintelligence.

Where Benchmark has placed AI bets, the results have been mixed:

• The firm led a $75 million round in Manus, a Singapore‑based AI agent platform that hit $100 million in annual recurring revenue within eight months of launching. When Meta agreed to acquire Manus for roughly $2 billion late last year, it looked like another Benchmark winner. However, Chinese regulators blocked the deal in April, arguing the company—founded in China before relocating to Singapore—had violated export‑control laws. The deal was blocked by Chinese regulators, leaving Benchmark’s stake in limbo.

• In recent months, Benchmark backed two Series B startups: Gumloop, a platform that allows enterprises to create AI agents without writing code, and Monaco, an AI‑native sales and CRM platform.

General partner Everett Randle told TechCrunch that the firm looks to build a “meaningful and deep relationship with the entrepreneurs,” which can happen early in the company’s lifecycle—at seed, Series A, or Series B.

Late‑Stage Investing and Recent Returns

Benchmark dipped its toe into late‑stage investing when it raised a $225 million special purpose vehicle (SPV) to participate in a $1 billion pre‑IPO round for Cerebras (TechCrunch reported earlier). Benchmark first led Cerebras’s Series A in 2016. Cerebras held its IPO last month, returning Benchmark $3.25 billion at the IPO price (Wall Street Journal).

The windfall from the Cerebras exit prompted Benchmark to raise the dedicated growth fund described above.

Changes in General Partnership

Over the last two years, Benchmark has undergone a significant shift in its general‑partner roster:

• In 2024, Miles Grimshaw left the firm to rejoin Thrive Capital.
• Last year, Sarah Tavel—Benchmark’s first and only female general partner to date—transitioned to the less‑involved role of venture partner, while Victor Lazarte departed to start his own VC firm (TechCrunch report).

To replenish its ranks, Benchmark—traditionally operating with four to six general partners—added two high‑profile investors:

• Everett Randle, poached from Kleiner Perkins.
• Jack Altman, brother of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.

These moves suggest that even Benchmark, long defined by its resistance to growth, now sees the AI era as requiring a different playbook—more capital, more stages, and fresh blood at the partner table.