Bessemer Venture Partners

Bessemer's story starts nowhere near a startup: in 1911, steel magnate Henry Phipps Jr. - Andrew Carnegie's business partner and the second-largest shareholder in Carnegie Steel - formed a family office to manage the fortune from Carnegie Steel's sale. That family office didn't formally become a venture capital firm until the 1970s, when it opened a Silicon Valley outpost to chase the emerging tech industry, eventually spinning out as Bessemer Venture Partners in 1986 - making it, by a wide margin, the oldest firm in venture capital.

$10B+ (recent fund) AUM 80/100 Power Score™ 1911 Founded Redwood City, CA
Cloud Software Consumer Healthcare
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Signature Exit

LinkedIn's 2011 IPO, followed by its 2016 acquisition by Microsoft

Key Partners & Leadership

Founder (1911, as Bessemer Trust)
Partner

Firm Timeline

1911
Steel magnate Henry Phipps Jr. forms a family office to manage the fortune from Carnegie Steel's sale.
1974
Begins accepting outside investors for the first time, beyond the Phipps family itself.
1975
Opens a Silicon Valley office, shifting focus toward technology and medical companies.
1986
Formally spins out as Bessemer Venture Partners, a dedicated venture capital firm.

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