Early-stage VC, San Francisco

Benchmark

Venture capital firm · San Francisco · Founded 1995

Quick read

Benchmark is an early-stage venture capital firm founded in 1995, headquartered in San Francisco and Woodside, California. It runs one of the most concentrated, flat-partnership models in venture — roughly 13 equal partners, no hierarchy, no platform team — and has backed eBay, Twitter, Uber, and Snapchat from their earliest institutional rounds. Its 2020 fund is currently worth more than 10x investors' initial capital, and the 2024 fund already sits at 3x.

Key facts

Founded
1995
Founders
Andrew Rachleff
Employees
13 partners
Sectors
generalist, consumer, enterprise, ai
Website
benchmark.com

Investment thesis

Benchmark leads the first institutional round in a small number of consumer, marketplace, AI, and enterprise software companies per year, writing $5M–$25M checks and taking board seats. The firm explicitly rejects scale — small fund sizes, equal partnership, no junior staff — on the conviction that concentrated, high-touch early-stage investing produces better returns than a diversified platform approach.

Recent activity

  • Jun 2026fundraise
    Benchmark raised a $2B capital haul that includes its first-ever growth fund, breaking its long-held tradition of capping funds at roughly $425M and investing only at the earliest stages. The move signals a strategic shift driven by the capital demands of AI-era startups. techcrunch.com
  • May 2026investment
    Benchmark's most recent disclosed investment was in Monaco, participating in the company's Series B on May 12, 2026. cbinsights.com
  • Apr 2026press
    China blocked Meta's planned acquisition of Manus AI, a portfolio-adjacent company that had received Benchmark investment and relocated from China to Singapore in mid-2025. Beijing ordered the deal unwound after characterizing it as conspiratorial. cbinsights.com
  • Apr 2026investment
    Benchmark's latest investment via PitchBook data was in Legora on April 30, 2026, a business productivity software company. pitchbook.com
  • Mar 2026investment
    Sunday raised a $165M Series B at a $1.15B valuation to build household robots, with Benchmark participating alongside Coatue, Tiger Global Management, and Bain Capital Ventures. tracxn.com
  • Feb 2026leadership
    Jack Altman joined Benchmark as a general partner. Separately, Benchmark also added Randle, poached from Kleiner Perkins, expanding the partnership ahead of its larger fund strategy. techcrunch.com
  • 2026press
    Benchmark's 2020 fund is now worth more than 10x the original investor capital, with holdings including Fireworks, Mercor, Sierra, and Legora. The 2024 fund is tracking at 3x based on cash distributions and paper value. en.wikipedia.org
  • Jun 2026fundraise
    Benchmark raised $2 billion across multiple vehicles, including its first-ever growth fund — a direct break from the $425 million fund cap it held for over 20 years. The raise gives the firm firepower to back companies from early to late stages, particularly capital-intensive AI startups. techcrunch.com
  • Feb 2026leadership
    Jack Altman joined Benchmark as a general partner, bringing his Alt Capital teammates with him. Alt Capital had raised a $150 million Fund I in early 2024 and a $274 million Fund II in September 2025. Alt Capital's portfolio of at least 52 companies — including Rippling and Antares Nuclear — came along with the move. techcrunch.com
  • Feb 2026fundraise
    Benchmark raised $225 million in special purpose vehicles to double down on its Cerebras Systems investment, which the firm first co-led 10 years prior. tracxn.com
  • Mar 2026investment
    Sunday, a household robotics startup, reached a $1.15 billion valuation after a $165 million Series B. Benchmark participated alongside Coatue, Tiger Global Management, and Bain Capital Ventures. tracxn.com
  • 2025leadership
    Sarah Tavel — Benchmark's first and only female general partner to date — moved to the less-involved role of venture partner. Victor Lazarte also departed to start his own VC firm. techcrunch.com

Notable investments

Key people

Named individuals at the firm. We don't expose direct email or phone — use their LinkedIn for outreach.

  • Andrew Rachleff · Co-Founder
    LinkedIn
  • Peter Fenton · General Partner
    LinkedIn
  • Jack Altman · General Partner
    LinkedIn
  • Matt Mochary · Advisor / Coach
  • Bill Gurley · Partner at Benchmark
    Brief →
  • Sarah Tavel · General Partner
  • Matt Cohler · General Partner (Partner Emeritus)
  • Eric Vishria · General Partner
  • Chetan Puttagunta · General Partner
  • Miles Grimshaw · General Partner
  • Victor Lazarte · General Partner

Sources

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Frequently asked

What is Benchmark?+

Benchmark is an early-stage venture capital firm founded in 1995, headquartered in San Francisco and Woodside, California. It runs one of the most concentrated, flat-partnership models in venture — roughly 13 equal partners, no hierarchy, no platform team — and has backed eBay, Twitter, Uber, and Snapchat from their earliest institutional rounds.

Where is Benchmark headquartered?+

Benchmark is headquartered in San Francisco, United States.

When was Benchmark founded?+

Benchmark was founded in 1995 by Andrew Rachleff.

What sectors does Benchmark invest in?+

Benchmark focuses on generalist, consumer, enterprise, ai. They primarily invest in these sectors.

How do I prepare for a meeting with Benchmark?+

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Generated by briefthecall.com from public web sources. Last updated July 6, 2026. Each claim is linked to its source above.

Automatically generated by AI from public sources. May be inaccurate or out of date. Remove or correct this profile →