Marc Benioff
About Marc Benioff
Marc Benioff is based in San Francisco. He is the co-founder, chair and CEO of Salesforce. Crunchbase says he attended the University of Southern California and earlier worked at Oracle as a senior vice president. A Yahoo Tech profile says he spent 13 years at Oracle before leaving to work on Salesforce full time.
In September 2018, Benioff and his wife Lynne bought Time magazine for $190 million. He is the owner and co-chair of TIME. In 2019 he started TIME Ventures, which Salesforce describes as an investment firm with over 200 investments. PitchBook also lists him as a co-founder of Ellipsis Health and a board member at SilviaTerra and Artera.
The Crunchbase profile this page is based on lists 0 companies founded. Crunchbase's main Benioff profile is Salesforce-centred and shows far more activity (204 investments, 153 portfolio companies), so counts differ between profiles. Treat the numbers as approximate.
Benioff's personal investing runs mainly through TIME Ventures. Wikipedia reports that the fund has backed Commonwealth Fusion Systems, Universal Hydrogen and NCX. It also reports that TIME Ventures portfolio companies Planet Labs and IonQ went public in 2021. In fall 2021 the Benioffs announced $200 million in new climate investments connected to the Time Tree Fund and TIME Ventures.
Crunchbase records 27 investments on the profile used here, with 0 lead investments and 0 exits. PitchBook lists him as an active angel with 212 investments. Earlier health deals include the 2019 Series B of Viome, where Crunchbase lists him as a lead investor. Salesforce Ventures is a separate corporate vehicle. Crunchbase shows it leading some rounds, such as Solomei AI, and those should not be read as Benioff's personal angel checks.
Crunchbase shows 14 AI investments since 2023 on this profile. The AI portfolio it lists is June, Factory, Norm AI, Jeeva AI, Dot Product, World Labs, SandboxAQ, Warp, Fyxer AI, Artera and Trig.
Public announcements confirm several of these. Norm Ai's $48 million round, described by Craft Ventures, included Benioff alongside Coatue, Vanguard and Blackstone Innovations Investments. NFX Signal dates that round to March 2025 and calls it a Series A. World Labs launched with more than $230 million in funding, and Crunchbase News names Benioff among its investors. Fyxer AI announced a $30 million Series B led by Madrona and named Benioff as a previous investor. SandboxAQ rounds listed on NFX Signal include a $150 million Series E in April 2025 and a $300 million Series E in December 2024.
Most of these are later-stage or follow-on rounds. Benioff often appears as one of several named individual investors rather than as the lead.
NFX Signal ranks Benioff across AI, enterprise, enterprise applications and consumer internet. Its stage coverage runs from pre-seed through Series B. Crunchbase and Fundable tag his activity with software, SaaS, AI, health care and information technology. His TIME Ventures record also includes climate and energy companies. He is based in San Francisco, and NFX places him in its San Francisco Bay Area angel group.
NFX Signal lists an investment range of $10K to $500K, with a sweet spot of $100K. This is a third-party estimate. We found no public statement from Benioff on check size, and none on what he looks for in an angel pitch.
- Norm AI: AI compliance review for enterprises. Benioff took part in the $48M round reported in March 2025.
- World Labs: spatial intelligence AI company. Benioff was among the investors when it launched with more than $230M.
- Fyxer AI: AI executive assistant for email and admin work. Benioff is named as a previous investor in its $30M Series B announcement.
- SandboxAQ: AI and quantum technology company. NFX Signal lists Benioff in rounds from March 2022 through April 2025.
- Factory: AI company. Crunchbase lists a Factory venture round as his latest investment.
- Trig: AI company. Crunchbase shows a round announced in October 2025.
- Laurel: Benioff is listed on its $80M Series C in June 2025, per NFX Signal.
- Viome: microbiome health company. He was a lead investor in its 2019 Series B.
- Commonwealth Fusion Systems: fusion energy company, backed through TIME Ventures.
- crunchbase.com/person/61d19fc5-3a69-e4f7-9a6d-83d4fb6a0212
- crunchbase.com/person/marc-benioff
- signal.nfx.com/investors/marc-benioff
- pitchbook.com/profiles/investor/106035-13
- medium.com/craft-ventures/why-we-invested-in-norm-ai-1219cc1a30ea
- news.crunchbase.com/ai/world-labs-launches-a16z-nventures
- fyxer.com/blog/series-b-statement
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marc_Benioff
AI portfolio
Investing activity
Marc Benioff has made 27 investments according to Crunchbase. 14 of those investments since 2023 were in AI companies, including June, Factory, Norm AI, Jeeva AI and Dot Product.
Marc Benioff appears in 1 AI deal tracked by the Lounge deals desk. The rounds are mostly Seed, with a median round size of $6M. The most recent is Enclave (Seed, $6M, Mar 2026).
Marc Benioff most often invests alongside 8VC, Aaron Levie, Patrick Collison and Jeremy Stoppelman, and the companies they back on Lounge are mostly in AI.
Deals
Frequently asked questions about Marc Benioff
Does Marc Benioff invest in AI startups?
Yes. Crunchbase lists 14 AI investments since 2023 on this profile, including Norm AI, World Labs, Fyxer AI, SandboxAQ, Factory and Trig.
How much does Marc Benioff invest per startup?
No check size is stated by Benioff in anything we found. NFX Signal estimates a range of $10K to $500K with a $100K sweet spot, which is a third-party figure.
What stages does Marc Benioff invest in?
NFX Signal places him in AI and enterprise rankings from pre-seed through Series B. Many of his named AI deals are Series A and later rounds.
How do I pitch Marc Benioff as an angel?
We found no public pitch process or stated criteria. Investments run through TIME Ventures, and he often appears alongside institutional leads, so a warm introduction from a co-investor or lead fund is the likelier route.
Is Marc Benioff's angel investing the same as Salesforce Ventures?
No. His personal investing runs through TIME Ventures and direct angel checks. Salesforce Ventures is the corporate venture arm and appears separately in Crunchbase.
Is Marc Benioff an angel investor?
Yes. Marc Benioff invests personally as an angel. Crunchbase counts 27 investments.
What AI companies has Marc Benioff invested in?
Marc Benioff's AI investments include June, Factory, Norm AI, Jeeva AI, Dot Product, World Labs, SandboxAQ and Warp. The 1 round on Lounge are listed on this page with amounts, dates and co-investors.
Where is Marc Benioff based?
Marc Benioff is based in San Francisco, United States.
What stage does Marc Benioff invest at?
In the rounds tracked on Lounge, Marc Benioff has invested at Seed, with a median round of $6M.
Who does Marc Benioff co-invest with?
Marc Benioff's most frequent co-investors on Lounge are 8VC (1 deal), Aaron Levie (1 deal), Patrick Collison (1 deal), Jeremy Stoppelman (1 deal) and Matt Huang (1 deal).