Bessemer Venture Partners

Active

Country: United States (US)
Founded: 1911
HQ: Redwood City, California, United States
Employees: ~230
Parent: Bessemer Securities

Indexes

Venture Capital Firms

Overview

Bessemer Venture Partners (BVP) is one of the oldest venture capital firms in the world, founded in 1911. The firm manages over $18 billion in assets across 33 funds and has invested in 917 companies, resulting in 69 unicorns, 73 IPOs, and 319 acquisitions. BVP operates as a thesis-driven, sector-focused investment firm targeting companies at various stages from seed to growth equity, with particular focus on AI/ML, fintech, cloud computing, cybersecurity, healthcare, and marketplaces. In 2024, Venture Capital Journal ranked BVP as the 3rd largest venture capital firm based on total fundraising over the most recent five-year period.

History

Bessemer Venture Partners originated in 1911 when Henry Phipps Jr., a co-founder of Carnegie Steel, formed Bessemer Trust in New York to manage his family's assets, subsequently spinning out Bessemer Securities as a separate venture capital investment entity. The venture capital operation was eventually separated as Bessemer Venture Partners, with Bessemer Securities remaining as the parent company providing funding and support. In 2000, BVP began expanding internationally into India, Israel, Latin America, and Europe. In 2007, BVP closed its first fund that accepted capital from outside investors, marking a shift from relying solely on Phipps family capital. In 2021, BVP established a private equity team, with the BVP Forge buyout fund closing at $780 million in September 2022 alongside the announcement of their 12th early-stage fund at $3.85 billion.

Product Lines

Product Line	Positioning	Price Range
Early-Stage Venture Capital	Seed and Series A/B investments in emerging technology companies	$2 million - $50 million per check
Growth Equity	Later-stage investments in scaling companies with proven product-market fit	$50 million - $200 million per check
Private Equity (BVP Forge)	Buyout and growth equity investments in established companies	$100 million - $500 million per transaction
International Venture Capital	Early and growth-stage investments across India, Israel, UK, and other markets	$2 million - $100 million per check

Manufacturing

As a venture capital and private equity firm, BVP does not manufacture physical products. The firm provides capital and operational support to portfolio companies across various sectors, leveraging its team of over 230 members to offer guidance on go-to-market strategies, talent acquisition, and international expansion.

Notable Products

Portfolio of 420+ Companies - Active investments across enterprise, consumer, and healthcare sectors including Anthropic, Perplexity, DeepL, LinkedIn, Shopify, Twitch, and Pinterest
150+ IPOs and deSPACs - Successful public market exits including StubHub and Hinge Health in 2025
Anti-Portfolio - Publicly documented list of companies BVP passed on that became highly successful, including Google, Facebook, and Airbnb
BVP Forge Fund II - Private equity buyout fund closed in November 2025 for growth equity and buyout investments

Reputation

Bessemer Venture Partners is recognized as one of the most established and successful venture capital firms globally, with a century-long track record of identifying and supporting transformative companies. The firm is known for its extensive network, hands-on operational support, and commitment to sustainability and social impact investing. Its publicly maintained anti-portfolio demonstrates intellectual honesty about investment decisions and has become a notable aspect of its brand identity. However, like most large venture firms, BVP faces ongoing scrutiny regarding diversity in its portfolio and investment team, as well as questions about whether its size and institutional nature limit its ability to take contrarian bets compared to smaller, more nimble competitors.

Sources (7)