Benchmark Raises Its First-Ever Growth Fund as Part of $2B Capital Raise

['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, according to the Wall Street Journal.', 'While the fund sizes of many venture capital firms have ballooned into billions of dollars over the last decade, Benchmark stuck to the strategy that helped make it legendary. By being staunchly selective and taking a large—typically 20%—stake in every startup the firm backed, it maintained a model designed to maximize outsized returns for its limited partners.

However, Benchmark’s relatively small fund sizes have likely prevented the firm from investing in capital-intensive AI startups, particularly foundation model makers, whose round sizes often reach into hundreds of millions.', 'The firm has had mixed results with its AI investments. Benchmark 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 in the making.

But Chinese regulators blocked the deal in April, leaving Benchmark’s stake in limbo. The new $750 million early-stage fund will give the firm more flexibility to write checks in an environment where early-stage valuations have skyrocketed.', 'Benchmark general partner Everett Randle previously told TechCrunch that the firm looks to build a “meaningful and deep relationship with the entrepreneurs, and that can happen relatively early in the company’s lifecycle, at seed, [Series] A, at [Series] B.” The firm has recently 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. The firm also 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.', 'That windfall prompted the firm to raise a dedicated growth fund.

That new vehicle 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 two new funds aren’t the only changes at Benchmark. Over the last two years, the firm has undergone a significant shift in its general partners.