Benchmark (venture capital firm)

The firm's most successful investment was a 1997 investment of $6.7 million in eBay for 22.1% of the company.[1] In 2011, it invested $12 million for an 11% stake in Uber, worth $7 billion in 2019.[2]

The firm's most infamous investment was in WeWork, the troubled office rental social networking company. On April 1, 2012, Benchmark became WeWork's first major investor when it led WeWork’s $17 million Series-A seed funding.[3][4]

Companies funded by the firm include Dropbox,[5] Twitter, Uber,[6] Snapchat,[7] Instagram,[8] Discord,[9] Domo,[10] New Relic,[11] Nextdoor,[12] Stitch Fix,[13] WeWork,[14] Yelp,[15] Zendesk,[16] Zillow[17] and Zipcar.[18]

Benchmark is noted for creating the first equal ownership and compensation structure for its partners.[19] The "maverick" firm[20] differs from most VC firms, which are named for their founders and are structured hierarchically; Benchmark is "a lean operation in which its six full-time partners share profits equally."[20] There is no differentiation between its "junior partners" and "senior partners," as each partner benefits equally from company profits. In addition, there is no CEO-like position held.[21]

The firm announced in May 2012 it would be expanding beyond its Menlo Park, California headquarters by opening a second headquarters with more than 10,000 square feet in San Francisco’s emerging tech corridor, the Mid-Market neighborhood.[22]

Benchmark has invested in more than 250 startups since its inception in 1995, including:

• Michael Eisenberg

• Official website