My New Role at Benchmark

Hi All -

After eight years at Benchmark, I’m shifting to a Venture Partner role. In this new role, I'll continue to make new investments on behalf of Benchmark, serve on my existing boards, and contribute to Benchmark and our portfolio. What's changing is my focus and time allocation.

When I joined Benchmark, I was drawn to its distinctive model in venture capital—a small equal partnership of no more than six general partners, all generalists, deeply committed to partnering with the most ambitious founders of our generation. With no junior people or platform team, the structure demands total dedication from each partner. It's a model that has proven remarkably successful, and also one that demands a certain approach to venture.

AI isn’t just another technology wave – it’s a transformational force that will reshape every corner of our lives. As I've watched the space evolve, I've increasingly realized that for me to best support founders building in AI, I need more space. More space to go AI-native by fully immersing myself in AI tools at the edge, more space to reflect on the last ten years and try to understand what the next ten might bring, and maybe even (don't hold me to this!) more space to think through it all by writing.

After reflecting on this with my partners, it became clear that transitioning to a Venture Partner role would give me the flexibility I need while maintaining my connection to Benchmark's core mission. I remain fully committed to Benchmark and our craft of deep partnership with the founders we back, just now with more room for curiosity and exploration (and yes… vibe coding).

For the extraordinary founders I currently work with: my commitment remains unchanged. I’m grateful for our partnership.

For founders building at the edge of AI: I'll now have more bandwidth to engage deeply with your vision. Whether you're just beginning your founder journey or scaling a team that's already found product-market fit, my email remains sarah at benchmark com.

Sarah