BENCHMARK CAPITAL
Founded in 1995, Benchmark Capital is best known for its $5 million investment in online auctioneer eBay in 1997. eBay's founder, Pierre Omidyar, realized that he needed help managing what was becoming one of the most highly trafficked sites on the World Wide Web. As part of the financing deal, Benchmark obtained a 22 percent stake in eBay, which was eventually worth more than $3 billion. Also that year, Benchmark, along with Sequoia Capital and Stanford University, contributed $20.5 million in capital to Internet and e-commerce consultancy up-start Scient. In 1999, Benchmark, again working in tandem with Sequoia and other venture capitalists, provided $122 million to Louis Borders, the founder of the Borders bookstore chain, to create Webvan, an online grocery delivery service. Benchmark also invested in firms like online mortgage vendor E-loan Inc. and B2B technology upstart Ariba Inc., typically offering an initial round of financing worth $3 to $5 million. In some cases, the firm spent upwards of $15 million over the life of a company.
User Comments Add a comment…