Victor Lazarte of Benchmark GP: The Full Story of His Departure and New Fund Launch—Decoding the VC Industry Structure and Future Trends

Victor Lazarte, who served as a General Partner (GP) at Benchmark for two years, has announced that he will leave the firm on July 24, 2025, to launch his own new investment fund. His departure is a significant event for the structure of the VC industry and Benchmark's partnership model. This article analyzes Lazarte's background and achievements, the characteristics of Benchmark, and the implications of this move.

1. Who is Lazarte: From Founder to VC

1-1. The Driving Force Behind Wildlife Studios

Lazarte is known as the co-founder of the mobile gaming company Wildlife Studios. The company, which originated in Brazil, was valued at approximately $3 billion in 2020 and had also received investment from Benchmark.

1-2. Career at Benchmark

He joined Benchmark in 2023 and served as a general GP. He primarily invested in startups related to AI, data labeling, and video intelligence, and was involved with Mercor (recruitment/data labeling), HeyGen (AI video generation), and Decart AI (AI infrastructure).

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), he stated, "After 2 great years at benchmark, I've made the difficult decision to leave the firm in order to pursue a new adventure," expressing that he decided to leave of his own volition.

2. Characteristics of Benchmark and the Meaning of This Departure

2-1. Equal Partnership Structure

Benchmark maintains a rare structure where all general partners are an "equal partnership." This means there is no hierarchy between senior and junior partners, and profits and management fees are distributed equally among everyone.

Under this system, the departure of a partner directly affects the firm's scale and decision-making structure. Following the transition of Sarah Tavel to Venture Partner within the next few years, Lazarte's departure leaves the current GPs as the three individuals: Peter Fenton, Eric Vishria, and Chetan Puttagunta.

According to a LinkedIn post, the partnership dropping to three members is noted as, "Storied VC firm Benchmark has never seen its partnership drop to 3 before," which is considered a historically rare situation.

2-2. Industry Trends Indicated by Lazarte's Departure

Recently, the movement of VC professionals launching their own funds has become more active. Lazarte also plans to expand into independent investment activities, stating it is "to build a new investment practice."

This can be seen as a sign that the "minimalist GP model" specializing in specific domains (AI or data) is gaining attention. Miles Grimshaw and Sarah Tavel have taken similar steps in the past, and this can be viewed as a continuation of that trend.

3. Investment Trends and Emerging Domains: Focus on AI Startups

3-1. Specific Investments

During his time at Benchmark, Lazarte invested in the following AI-related startups:

• Mercor: A startup specializing in recruitment and labeling

• HeyGen: An AI-powered video generation and analysis platform

• Decart AI: An AI infrastructure building company

• Applied Compute: He is also involved in investing in and serving on the board of a reinforcement learning startup founded by former OpenAI employees.

3-2. Why did Lazarte focus on this?

His background includes scaling experience as a gaming founder, deep involvement in AI, and a network with companies like OpenAI. Furthermore, in podcasts and other venues, he has shared future predictions such as "replace humans" and "knowledge work will be destroyed," suggesting a strong belief in an AI-driven future.

In other words, it is expected that his new fund will also focus on "AI x Automation x Innovation in Knowledge Work."

4. Future Predictions and Impact

4-1. The Future of Benchmark

With the remaining GPs being Peter Fenton, Eric Vishria, and Chetan Puttagunta, a restructuring of the partner structure may proceed. It will be interesting to see who joins next or if they collaborate with other firms. As Fenton and the others take on investment decisions, we may see changes in fund strategy.

4-2. Outlook for the New Fund

Lazarte himself has notified the portfolio companies of his departure in advance, indicating a desire for a smooth transition to the new fund launch. While the scale and strategy of the launch have not been announced, it is highly likely that he will leverage his strengths in early-stage investments, specifically Seed to Series A, with a focus on the AI sector.

5. Conclusion: What the Departure from Benchmark Means

• Lazarte is known as a VC with strengths in AI and gaming through his own founding and investment career, and his independence is a turning point worth watching.

• Benchmark is characterized by maintaining an equal partner system, and this reduction to a 3-GP structure is historically unusual. The focus will be on its future reconstruction.

• The VC industry as a whole is seeing an acceleration in trends toward "specialized solo GP models" and "mini-fund models," and Lazarte's move is symbolic of this.

How the new fund will emerge in terms of structure and investment style, and how Benchmark will undergo changes, are points of great interest for the startup industry.

Recommended Articles

Next Big Wave (Growth Stocks, Seeds of Ideas, Deep Dives into Trends)

Unraveling the secrets of growth, from seed startups to legendary companies