After two years as a venture capitalist for top-shelf firm Benchmark, Victor Lazarte is leaving that company to start his own investing gig, he announced on X on Thursday[1].
Lazarte became known in tech for co-founding mobile gaming company Wildlife Studios, which was last valued at an estimated $3 billion in 2020. Wildlife raised money from a multitude of VCs, including Benchmark.
During his two years at Benchmark, Lazarte invested in recruiting and data labeling startup Mercor[2], AI video intelligence platform HeyGen, and AI infrastructure company Decart AI[3].
Lazarte is leaving Benchmark to “build a new investment practice,” he wrote in the post. He had recently informed his portfolio companies about his plans to leave Benchmark, according to a source.
Lazarte is the second investor to step down from Benchmark’s partnership this year. Sarah Tavel announced in April that she is transitioning to a venture partner[4].
After Lazarte’s departure, remaining partners at the storied firm include Peter Fenton, Eric Vishria, and Chetan Puttagunta.
Unlike most VC firms, where senior partners typically receive a greater share of management fees and profits, Benchmark operates as an equal partnership[5], with all general partners dividing fees and returns equally. Benchmark and Lazarte did not immediately respond to our request for additional comment.
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References
- ^ X on Thursday (x.com)
- ^ Mercor (techcrunch.com)
- ^ Decart AI (techcrunch.com)
- ^ venture partner (techcrunch.com)
- ^ equal partnership (techcrunch.com)