Benchmark's five partners say they will keep investing slowly, even in a frenzied AI market

Benchmark’s full partnership appeared together publicly for the first time at TechCrunch Disrupt and said the San Francisco venture firm will keep its traditional pace of two or three new investments per partner per year, even as rivals speed up. This summer the firm announced US$2 billion across two funds, only the second time in its 31-year history it has gone beyond a much smaller vehicle.

Peter Fenton said the core fund, held at US$500 million for 20 years, has grown with inflation, which he called overdue, and that the new US$1.25 billion growth fund lets the firm back companies it previously had to pass on. He expects that fund to make a concentrated set of perhaps four to eight investments.

Newer partners Ev Randle and Jack Altman said the small, equal partnership drew them to the firm. “If we invested in 100 or 200 companies a year, you’d want a CRM and a formal voting process,” Altman said. “Because it’s so rare, the lack of structure is a huge asset.”