Eric Di Benedetto
About Eric Di Benedetto
Eric Di Benedetto is a private investor based in San Francisco. His Crunchbase bio describes him as working at the crossroads of finance and technology, and says he has been a professional investor in software start-ups for over 25 years, first as a VC and then as a professional angel investor. The bio cites over 30 IPOs and M&A exits worth more than $13 billion in aggregate. A GoShare team page, which gives the same exit count, states the aggregate value as over $10 billion. That page also lists his MBA from ESSEC Business School in Paris and a BA in mathematics and physics.
His venture career began in the early 1990s. Before co-founding Convergence Partners in 1997, he was managing director of U.S. venture capital funds managed by BANEXI. Earlier he worked on workouts and restructuring at PARGESA/Lambert Brussels Group and in M&A at Bankers Trust (now part of Deutsche Bank). Profiles on Foundersuite and Arete Index say he served on the boards of ten Convergence Partners portfolio companies. They name Clickability, IdeaBlade, Plastyc and RapLeaf, and say he was also a board member of RateItAll.
Arete Index says he began a professional angel program in 2003 and founded Active Starts in 2006. Crunchbase and CB Insights describe Active Starts as a professional angel investment firm focused on California-based software start-ups within a year of product launch. Crunchbase marks the firm as closed. His LinkedIn profile now lists Quadratura, and describes him as a professional investor in ClimateTech, FinTech, Data Intelligence and DeepTech. On X he describes himself as an angel investor in intelligent and impactful start-ups.
Crunchbase lists 7 investments, 4 portfolio companies, 2 exits and no lead investments for him. These counts are incomplete: PitchBook shows 45 investments and CB Insights shows 9, and his Active Starts deals are recorded under that firm. Arete Index says that since 1991 he has invested in more than 40 companies as a VC or angel, with ten public offerings and four sales to public companies.
His bio names four early investments: Lending Club (P2P lending), Clairmail (now Monitise, mobile banking), Signio (now PayPal, online payments) and Sentient Technologies. A 2011 LendingClub 8-K filing also lists him among the company's early shareholders.
Tracxn records these more recent rounds with his participation:
GoShare, seed, July 2021
Alpaca Securities, seed, October 2018
CourseKey, seed, June 2017
CB Insights also shows him as a co-investor in GoShare's seed round in October 2021. Tracxn gives the GoShare round as $3.6M, while CB Insights gives it as $8M, so round sizes differ by source. His own check size is not public.
AI is one of the specialties in his Crunchbase bio, alongside financial services technology and mobile services. The AI company he names is Sentient Technologies, which his bio calls an effort to solve complex problems through massively scaled artificial intelligence. Wikipedia says Sentient was founded in 2007, raised over $143 million and was dissolved in 2019. The date and size of his investment are not public.
His current portfolio list includes other companies founders may want to look at, but his sources do not say which of them are AI companies. He does not publish an AI-specific thesis or list of AI deals.
His Crunchbase bio gives his most recent primary focus as disruptive financial technologies with massive impact. His LinkedIn headline lists ClimateTech, FinTech, Data Intelligence and DeepTech. The deals Tracxn records for him are all seed rounds, and Foundersuite lists him under seed-round angels. Active Starts focused on California software companies near product launch. Tracxn lists his investment geography as the United States.
He has not published a check size. His Crunchbase bio says he wants projects to be referred and strongly supported by someone in his LinkedIn network, so a warm introduction is the stated route in.
- Lending Club: P2P lending marketplace; he is named as an original investor and appears in a 2011 8-K list of early holders.
- Clairmail (now Monitise): mobile banking and mobile money; named as an original investment.
- Signio (now PayPal): online payments; named as an original investment.
- Sentient Technologies: large-scale AI company; named as an original investment, date not public.
- Alpaca: listed as a current investment; Tracxn records a seed round for Alpaca Securities in October 2018.
- CourseKey: listed as a current investment; Tracxn records a seed round in June 2017.
- GoShare: listed as a current investment; he is also an advisor, and the seed round was in 2021.
- Fuzzy: listed as a current investment; a LinkedIn recommendation from a Fuzzy founder calls him an early investor.
- Aromyx, GraphWear, Jyve, LeadCrunch, PeerIQ, QMerit and Siftery: also listed as current investments in his Crunchbase bio.
Investing activity
Eric Di Benedetto has made 7 investments according to Crunchbase across 4 portfolio companies, and has seen 2 exits and founded 1 company.
Deals
Frequently asked questions about Eric Di Benedetto
Does Eric Di Benedetto invest in AI startups?
AI is one of the specialties in his Crunchbase bio, and he names Sentient Technologies, a large-scale AI company, among his original investments. His recent stated focus is financial technology, so AI companies with a fintech angle may fit best.
What stage does Eric Di Benedetto invest at?
The rounds recorded for him on Tracxn are seed rounds, and Foundersuite lists him as a seed-round angel. His earlier firm Active Starts targeted California software start-ups within a year of product launch.
What check size does Eric Di Benedetto write?
He has not published a check size. Third-party databases show only the total size of rounds he joined, not his own amount.
How do I pitch Eric Di Benedetto?
His Crunchbase bio asks that projects be referred and strongly supported by one of his LinkedIn connections. A warm introduction is the stated route in.
Where is Eric Di Benedetto based?
He is based in San Francisco, California. His LinkedIn lists the San Francisco Bay Area.
Which companies has Eric Di Benedetto backed?
His bio names Lending Club, Clairmail (now Monitise), Signio (now PayPal) and Sentient Technologies as original investments. Current holdings listed include Alpaca, CourseKey, GoShare, Fuzzy, PeerIQ and Siftery.
Is Eric Di Benedetto an angel investor?
Yes. Eric Di Benedetto invests personally as an angel. Crunchbase counts 7 investments and 2 exits.
How can founders reach Eric Di Benedetto?
Founders on Lounge can see Eric Di Benedetto'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 Eric Di Benedetto to their Investor Pipeline to track the conversation.