bgv Closes $110M Fund for Immigrant & Cross-Border Startups

Benhamou Global Ventures Closes $110 Million Fund for Enterprise AI

Benhamou Global Ventures (BGV), a venture capital firm headquartered in Silicon Valley, has successfully finalized its fourth fund, securing $110 million in capital.

This new fund represents a 60% increase in size compared to its predecessor and will follow a similar investment strategy.

Focus on "Enterprise 4.0" Startups

BGV will concentrate on seed and Series A stage startups operating within the “Enterprise 4.0” sector, as defined by General Partner Anik Bose.

This encompasses AI-first B2B startups that leverage deep technology to analyze unique data sets and implement workflow automation.

Ethical Considerations in AI Development

A key priority for BGV is ensuring that these startups address ethical concerns related to artificial intelligence.

This includes mitigating potential biases based on race, gender, or age, alongside robust data privacy and security measures, and a commitment to transparency.

Bose emphasized the firm’s belief that the ultimate success of AI hinges on effectively tackling these ethical challenges.

He noted the current lack of comprehensive regulation regarding AI ethics, stating that addressing this requires a collective effort from companies, founders, and governments.

Investment History and Future Plans

To date, BGV has made investments in 28 companies, including recent participation in Totango’s $100 million funding round.

The firm has also experienced 20 successful exits.

With the new fund, Bose projects adding between 14 and 16 additional companies to their portfolio, with six investments already completed.

The average investment size is $2 million for seed rounds and $4 million for Series A funding.

A Globally Diverse Investment Approach

Founded in 2004 by Eric Benhamou, BGV also champions a vision of supporting immigrant entrepreneurs.

The firm maintains offices in Palo Alto, Tel Aviv, Paris, and Mumbai, reflecting its global reach.

Diversity within the firm is also a priority, with six of the nine full-time investment team members being immigrants, and all three general partners having immigrant backgrounds.

Currently, 95% of BGV’s portfolio companies are led by immigrant entrepreneurs, and 60% are located outside of Silicon Valley.

The Value of Immigrant Perspectives

Bose explained that immigration is a natural outcome of their investment strategy.

He highlighted the importance of a diverse team, capable of empathizing with and understanding the challenges faced by the entrepreneurs they invest in.

Furthermore, Bose pointed out that with minorities comprising 50% of the workforce, a lack of diversity can lead to missed opportunities.