Bessemer Venture Partners Closes $3.3 Billion Across Two Funds; Welcomes Amazon.com Veteran Jeff Blackburn as Partner
26.2.2021 01:40:00 EET | Business Wire | Press release
Bessemer Venture Partners, a global early-stage venture capital firm, today announced the close of two new funds, adding $3.3 billion of capital for investing in promising technology companies at their early and subsequent growth stages.
Additionally, the firm welcomed five new partners, including Jeff Blackburn, who joins Bessemer Venture Partners from Amazon, alongside the promotion of existing Bessemer investors Mary D'Onofrio, Mike Droesch, Tess Hatch, and Andrew Hedin.
“Today marks an incredible milestone at Bessemer as we launch our latest and largest funds and add five exceptional investors into the partnership,” said Jeremy Levine, a partner in Bessemer’s New York office. “I’m proud to celebrate the success of Mary, Mike, Tess, and Andrew, and I am excited to welcome Jeff to the firm. Having known Jeff for 15 years, I’m a great admirer of his stunning track record as an innovator and leader paired with his deep humility. I know his peerless experience leading one of the world’s greatest tech and consumer brands will benefit our team and the many founders who partner with Bessemer.”
Blackburn joins Bessemer following a 22-year career at Amazon, first joining the e-commerce giant after its IPO and then spearheading its growth in the core marketplace business and expansion across Amazon Advertising, Prime Video, Amazon Music, and Amazon Studios. Most recently, Blackburn served as senior vice president of worldwide business development. He oversaw dozens of Amazon’s minority investments and more than a hundred acquisitions across all business lines – including retail, Kindle, Echo, Alexa, FireTV, advertising, music, streaming audio & video, and Amazon Web Services.
At Bessemer, he will apply his innovative mindset and considerable experience -- as an investor, operator, and leader – toward existing and future Bessemer portfolio companies.
“Having been part of Amazon for more than two decades, I’m excited to begin a new chapter helping customer-focused founders build breakthrough companies,” said Blackburn. "I’ve known the Bessemer team for many years and have long admired their strategic vision and success backing early-stage ventures."
Blackburn’s arrival and the promotions of D'Onofrio, Droesch, Hatch, and Hedin all coincide with the close of Bessemer’s eleventh flagship fund, BVP XI, and their second opportunity fund, BVP Century II. The majority of the $3.3 billion across both funds will focus on early-stage investments, consistent with the firm’s time-honored approach of starting with seed and Series A investments and sticking with companies at every stage of their growth.
The firm continues to expand with a leadership team of 21 partners and over 45 investors, advisors, and platform team members positioned all over the world – Silicon Valley, San Francisco, Seattle, New York, Boston, London, Tel Aviv, Bangalore, and Beijing.
Bessemer Partner Byron Deeter added: “Our partners work one-on-one with our CEOs, but they also benefit from the growing scale and support from our entire platform. With our new funds and expanded partnership, Bessemer is even better equipped to help the best entrepreneurs – across all stages, sectors, and geographies – build incredible companies.”
About Bessemer Venture Partners
Bessemer Venture Partners is a global early-stage venture capital firm. With a portfolio of more than 200 companies, Bessemer helps visionary entrepreneurs lay strong foundations to create companies that matter, and supports them through every stage of their growth. The firm has backed more than 130 IPOs, including Shopify, Yelp, LinkedIn, Skype, LifeLock, Twilio, SendGrid, DocuSign, Wix, and Fiverr. Bessemer's team of investors and partners are positioned all over the world in Silicon Valley, San Francisco, Seattle, New York, Boston, Tel Aviv, Bangalore, and Beijing.
https://www.bvp.com/
Follow @BessemerVP
To view this piece of content from cts.businesswire.com, please give your consent at the top of this page.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210225006258/en/
Contact information
Media Contact
Karen Lee
press@bvp.com
About Business Wire
For more than 50 years, Business Wire has been the global leader in press release distribution and regulatory disclosure.
Subscribe to releases from Business Wire
Subscribe to all the latest releases from Business Wire by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Latest releases from Business Wire
Alushibe Holding Group to Bring 12 Global F&B Brands to Libya by 202829.10.2026 10:00:00 EET | Press release
Alushibe Holding Group today announced plans to bring 12 international food-and-beverage brands to Libya by 2028 through its Retail & Destinations division, beginning with an exclusive master franchise agreement with MADO, the Turkish ice-cream and patisserie house founded in 1850. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20261029822317/en/ Ahmed Gadalla signs exclusive master franchise agreement with Türkiye's MADO: US$7 million, 7 cafés and 350 jobs in the first phase; 1,000 sq m Benghazi flagship opens Q1 2027 – (Photo: AETOSWire) Signed in Kahramanmaraş on 13 October 2026 by Ahmed Gadalla, Founder and Chairman of Alushibe Holding Group, and Mehmet Sait Kanbur, Chairman of MADO, the agreement grants Alushibe exclusive rights to develop and operate MADO in Libya, the brand's 36th country. Alushibe will invest US$7 million in the first phase: 7 cafés and 350 jobs, beginning in Benghazi before Tripoli and other major cit
U.S. Bancorp Announces New U.S. Bancorp Global Funds Brand29.10.2026 10:00:00 EET | Press release
U.S. Bancorp today announced its new fund platform, U.S. Bancorp Global Funds, and its first offering, an offshore liquidity fund domiciled in Ireland, the U.S. Bancorp Liquidity – USD Treasury CNAV Fund. U.S. Bancorp Global Funds was created to support U.S. Bancorp’s growing international presence. It establishes a framework for future investment offerings and reflects U.S. Bancorp’s expanding presence in global markets. Investment products offered under the brand are established through U.S. Bancorp Global Funds ICAV, an Ireland-domiciled UCITS umbrella fund structure. The U.S. Bancorp Liquidity – USD Treasury CNAV Fund is the first offering introduced under the new brand. The U.S. Bancorp Liquidity – USD Treasury CNAV Fund is designed for investors outside the United States seeking to preserve capital while accessing a U.S. Treasury-focused liquidity solution within a regulated offshore structure. Domiciled in Ireland as a UCITS fund, it invests primarily in short-term U.S. Treasury
Element Biosciences Launches AVITI Dx™, Bringing CE-Marked IVD Sequencing to Ten EU Countries29.10.2026 10:00:00 EET | Press release
Element Biosciences, Inc. today announced the commercial launch of AVITI Dx, the company's first CE-marked in vitro diagnostic (IVD) sequencing platform under the European Union's In Vitro Diagnostic Regulation (EU IVDR). AVITI Dx integrates Element’s AVITI™ sequencing system, dedicated reagents, and software designed to meet applicable IVDR requirements and support regulated clinical laboratory workflows. The system is launching commercially in ten EU countries: the Netherlands, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Austria, the Czech Republic, Latvia, Romania, and Poland, with additional markets planned through a phased approach. Developed and manufactured under Element's ISO 13485-certified quality management system, AVITI Dx is a Class A IVD sequencing system supported by IVDR-compliant reagents and software. Built on the same industry-leading ABC™ chemistry that powers Element's other solutions, AVITI Dx delivers the high-quality performance AVITI is known for, with the flexibility and s
Positively Languages Launches, Expands With Malta School and Opens New London Premises29.10.2026 10:00:00 EET | Press release
Positively Languages, a leading language learning business, is unveiling its new brand today. Formerly known as Kaplan Languages Group, (which Inspirit Capital acquired in May 2026), the business is also expanding its portfolio with the opening of a new school in Malta and a new premises in London. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20261028449595/en/ Positively Languages, formerly known as Kaplan Languages Group, has taught English, French and German to more than one million students from 140 countries over the past 20 years. The new brand name ‘Positively Languages’ is built around the principle that ‘experience moves you forward’ which forms the backbone of the future growth of the business; new products based on experiences, new schools in the heart of key cultural cities. Positively Languages is also excited to announce the opening of a new school on the Mediterranean island of Malta, known as Positively Langu
IQM Demonstrates Entanglement Across a Complete 54-Qubit Processor, Bringing Full-Chip Performance to Cloud Users29.10.2026 09:00:00 EET | Press release
IQM Quantum Computers (Nasdaq: IQMX), a global leader in superconducting quantum computers, today announced that its cloud-accessible IQM Emerald system has fully entangled all 54 qubits on the chip simultaneously, a result that shows the system’s computational quality holds up when every qubit is put to work at once. IQM’s cloud customers now have access to that same full-chip performance, so their computations can draw on the entire processor rather than a fraction of it. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20261029191153/en/ IQM measured a fidelity of 0.515 at 40 qubits without readout error mitigation (REM) and 0.516 at the full 54 qubits with REM applied, both above the classical threshold of 0.500 that separates genuine entanglement from noise. These results rank among the strongest reported for any commercially available quantum computer, giving customers access to state-of-the-art, high-quality processors. U
In our pressroom you can read all our latest releases, find our press contacts, images, documents and other relevant information about us.
Visit our pressroom