Ben Ling
About Ben Ling
Ben Ling holds a B.S. in EECS from UC Berkeley and an M.S. and Ph.D. in Computer Science from Stanford. Before investing full time he held senior operating roles at Google, YouTube, Facebook and Badoo. At Google he founded and ran the commerce group (Google Wallet and Shopping), and later was Senior Director of Search and Local Business Products. At YouTube he was Senior Director of Partnerships and Platform. At Facebook he was the first director of the Facebook platform.
He joined Khosla Ventures in 2013, where he led investments in Wattpad, Tapingo, GitLab, TrueAccord and Webflow. He founded Bling Capital in 2018 as a solo general partner. His LinkedIn is linkedin.com/in/benjaminling.
Ling made "nearly 80" angel investments before joining Khosla. According to TechCrunch in 2020, those and his Khosla deals included Rippling, Airtable, Udemy, Quora, Instacart, Gusto, PagerDuty, Square, Lyft and Palantir. The Bling Capital site lists early stakes in Airtable, Lyft, Square, Palantir, Quora, Gusto and Udemy, and says he has backed 19 unicorns.
He now invests mainly through Bling Capital, a venture fund. TechCrunch reported two funds in 2018, a $61 million seed fund and a $35 million opportunity fund. In December 2020 it reported a further $77 million seed fund and a $36 million opportunity fund.
Public records show Ling investing in AI companies at seed and Series A. NFX Signal lists AI among his seed and Series A categories. Its records include Klutch.ai (seed, June 2025) and Odyssey (seed, October 2022; Series A, May 2024). TechCrunch noted Vise, which uses artificial intelligence to automate parts of investment management for financial advisers, as a later-stage Bling bet in 2020. Bling's own materials describe the fund's sectors as including AI and automation. We found no public thesis from Ling that is specific to AI.
Bling describes its stage as seed, helping founders find product-market fit. Data sources list pre-seed to Series A, with some later rounds. In 2020 Ling told TechCrunch that seed checks typically run $400,000 to $1 million for a 10% to 12% stake, and later-stage checks run $1 million to $3 million. Mercury's investor database lists US and Canada.
His stated sectors are consumer, internet, mobile, marketplace, SaaS, fintech and data. In 2020 he said rockets, ag tech, biotech and crypto were off limits because the firm had no comparative advantage there. He also said that working as a solo GP lets him decide faster than a partnership can.
- Odyssey: seed in October 2022 and Series A in May 2024, per NFX Signal.
- Klutch.ai: seed round in June 2025, per NFX Signal.
- Capitalize: seed in March 2020, Series A in February 2021 and Series B in August 2024, per NFX Signal.
- Coverdash: seed in January 2023 and Series A in February 2024, per NFX Signal.
- Vise: AI-based investment management software for financial advisers, named by TechCrunch in 2020.
- Hermeus: Mach 5 aircraft developer; Bling invested in its seed and Series A rounds.
- Airtable, Lyft, Square, Palantir, Quora, Gusto: early angel stakes listed by Bling Capital.
- blingcap.com/ben-ling
- techcrunch.com/2020/12/03/ben-lings-bling-capital-just-rounded-up-113-
- signal.nfx.com/investors/benjamin-ling
- crunchbase.com/person/ben-ling
- mercury.com/investor-database/ben-ling
- vcsheet.com/who/benjamin-ling
- in.marketscreener.com/insider/BEN-LING-A0UJJ7
- superscout.co/investor/bling-capital
Investing activity
Ben Ling is listed on Lounge as an angel investor. The deals desk records Series A and later AI rounds and seeds over $10M, so smaller checks may not show here yet.
Deals
Frequently asked questions about Ben Ling
Is Ben Ling an angel investor or a VC?
Both. He made nearly 80 angel investments before 2013 and still invests personally. Since 2018 he has mainly invested through Bling Capital, where he is the founder and general partner.
What check size does Ben Ling write?
In 2020 he told TechCrunch that seed checks typically run $400,000 to $1 million for a 10% to 12% stake. Later-stage checks ran $1 million to $3 million. Directories list similar ranges, but he has not published a current figure.
What stage does Ben Ling invest in?
Mainly seed, with some pre-seed and Series A, and occasional later rounds through the Bling opportunity fund. Bling says the hardest part of seed is finding product-market fit.
Does Ben Ling invest in AI startups?
Yes. NFX Signal lists AI seed and Series A investments, including Klutch.ai in 2025 and Odyssey in 2022 and 2024. He has not published an AI-specific thesis that we could find.
What sectors does Ben Ling avoid?
In 2020 he named rockets, ag tech, biotech and crypto as off limits. That was a statement about the firm's comparative advantage, so check Bling's current materials before pitching.
How do I contact Ben Ling?
His LinkedIn is linkedin.com/in/benjaminling, and Bling Capital's site is blingcap.com. A third-party directory lists his X handle as @bling0.
Is Ben Ling an angel investor?
Yes. Ben Ling invests personally as an angel.
How can founders reach Ben Ling?
Founders on Lounge can see Ben Ling's contact details in AI Investor Contacts (paid plans), check for a warm introduction through members who worked with them under Warm Paths, and add Ben Ling to their Investor Pipeline to track the conversation.