How was BGV born, and what is its founding vision?
Étienne: Benhamou Global Ventures (BGV) was founded in 2003 by Éric Benhamou, a French entrepreneur who built most of his career in the United States. After moving to Stanford as a young PhD student, he quickly became immersed in the U.S. tech ecosystem. He went on to launch several successful startups, led 3Com, a multi-billion-dollar tech company in the 1980s and 1990s, and served as of CEO of Palm, a pioneer in smartphones.
Initially, BGV functioned as his personal family office, focusing on startup investments to stay close to the pulse of innovation. For about a decade, it remained a discreet, capital-driven venture. But since 2014, BGV has evolved into a fully-fledged venture capital fund, now backed by external investors including family offices, corporates, and pension funds sovereign funds. It is now an operational fund, structured to support high-potential startups across continents.
Why is a cross-border approach central to BGV?
Étienne: BGV has always been international by design. Cross-border is in our DNA and our team reflects this ethos. Among the four General Partners based in Silicon Valley, two are French (Éric Benhamou and Eric Buatois), and two are of Indian origin (Anik Bose and Yash Hemaraj). None are fully American. Each has personal experience navigating and succeeding across borders, creating a deep sensitivity to international dynamics.
From the outset, BGV has aimed to support entrepreneurs expanding into the U.S., leveraging its local presence in Silicon Valley. For us, international mobility is a core advantage. We look for founders who, beyond local roots, carry a global outlook and a bold ambition to tackle the U.S. market.
But our reach doesn’t stop at the U.S. We’re also strategically present in France (through our Paris office), Israel (through the NetZero incubator), and India (through our Seed fund Arka Venture Labs)—thriving tech ecosystems in their own right. This international footprint allows BGV to act as a bridge between these regions and the American market.
What is BGV’s enterprise 5.0 thesis?
Étienne: BGV made its name with a strong thesis first on Enterprise 4.0, and now Enterprise 5.0. Even before the generative AI boom, we were investing in AI-based automation solutions and SaaS tools that enhanced human work. With the rise of generative AI, our focus naturally evolved toward Enterprise 5.0 where AI and humans collaborate at the core of the business model.
We don’t believe in AI as a total replacement for humans. Instead, we back solutions that empower people, freeing them from repetitive tasks so they can focus on high-value work. In many sectors, workers still spend over half their time on rote activities. We see AI as a lever to unlock that time and redirect it to strategic and creative efforts.
Our Enterprise 5.0 thesis cuts across verticals. We seek startups building AI-native products with proprietary datasets that integrate seamlessly into human workflows.
What criteria does BGV use when selecting startups?
Étienne: We currently invest through two funds: one for early stage (with a sweet spot at Seed and Series A) and another for early growth (Series B+). Startups must meet clear criteria.
First, they must have a defined ambition to scale in the U.S. That’s where we add the most value—through our deep local network.
Second, BGV focuses on B2B and software companies, specifically targeting enterprise AI companies across two primary categories:
(1) Vertical AI solutions using agentic software to transform specific industry value chains — such as retail, insurance, healthcare, and manufacturing. These companies are often led by founders with deep domain expertise, who understand sector-specific data, regulatory frameworks, and workflows.
(2) Horizontal agentic AI platforms serving cross-industry functions like legal, R&D, customer support, and cybersecurity. These platforms develop agents capable of digesting large data sets, analysing and interpreting insights, and executing tasks autonomously under human supervision.
In both cases, we believe great talent can come from anywhere. That’s why we focus on sourcing exceptional entrepreneurs from France, Israel, and India who are building companies with a U.S. go-to-market strategy from day one.
How does BGV work with its investors (LPs)?
Étienne: Our LP base includes, institutions, family offices, sovereign funds and corporates. This diversity reflects our cross-border DNA. Corporates, in particular, are strategic allies that help our portfolio companies gain access to markets, clients, and domain expertise.
While our early LPs were primarily U.S.-based, we now count investors from Europe, Israel and Japan. We see cultural diversity as a major strength and strive to maintain that global balance.
What has BGV accomplished with its $110M fundraise?
Étienne: Our 2020 raise of $110 million for our Early Stage fund, BGV IV, brought our total AUM beyond $500M. It’s already led to several promising investments, including positions in three unicorns: SandboxAQ, Earnix, and Jumpcloud.
For example, with BGV IV, we invested in several French companies including Greenly, a leading climate management platform, Kardinal, an AI-based logistics intelligence platform and The Forecasting Company, which is building a foundational model for time-series forecasting.
Our investment focus extends well beyond France. We also backed Evinced, a leading Israel-US company, developing AI-driven solutions for digital accessibility, empowering people with disabilities to navigate websites and applications with ease and confidence. Since BGV invested in the early stages, the company has raised a total of $112 million with leading investors such as Insight Partners.
Another standout is AIDash, a U.S.-India company using satellite imagery and AI to monitor critical infrastructure spread across vast geographies like power lines. Their tech helps preempt risks in an industry still largely manual. Last year, AIDash closed an oversubscribed Series C round at $58m.
We also already have early successful exits in this BGV IV fund: CryptoSense, a French cybersecurity start-up focused on cryptographic vulnerability analysis in enterprise systems, was acquired by SandboxAQ, a cutting-edge quantum and AI tech firm in the U.S. Zelros, an AI solution for banks and insurances, also recently announced its acquisition by Earnix, an Israel-US unicorn, to reshape the future of Insurance and Banking.
What are BGV’s most notable exits?
Étienne: A flagship exit was Grid Dynamics (NASDAQ: GDYN), which we backed early. Founded by Russian engineers, they developed a platform that helped enterprises accelerate digital product development through a blend of human and tech expertise. BGV played a key role in shaping their U.S. go-to-market strategy, which ultimately led to a successful IPO, validating our cross-border model and operational involvement.
On the French side, another key exit was Scalefast, a leading e-commerce solution provider specializing in global direct-to-consumer sales. They enabled brands to seamlessly expand their reach internationally by handling everything from localized storefronts and payment processing to logistics and customer service across various countries. Scalefast was successfully sold to ESW for over $300M.
These exits showcase BGV’s value: hands-on, cross-border support combining tech insight and go-to-market acumen to help ambitious startups scale globally.
How does BGV approach ESG?
Étienne: ESG at BGV isn’t a box-checking exercise, it’s embedded in our core values through an inclusive, international, and pragmatic approach. Just look at our team: General Partners hail from France and India, with team members of Japanese and broader Asian backgrounds. Few fit the standard Silicon Valley mold and that’s by design.
We extend the same focus on diversity to our portfolio. We pay close attention to founding teams, favoring globally-minded entrepreneurs building inclusive, culturally rich companies with international potential.
In a world where ESG definitions vary between France, the U.S., India, and Israel… we avoid rigid frameworks. Instead, we champion a grounded, project-based ESG lens—rooted in each startup’s real-world impact, markets, and teams.
What role does the Paris office play in BGV’s strategy?
Étienne: Our Paris office has deepened our European footprint. France is a strategic hub for us, thanks to its outstanding AI and deeptech talent. We look for startups with international ambitions and strong French tech roots.
We work closely with local investors and ecosystem players. Whether we lead or co-lead a round, we favor a collaborative approach—offering distinct value on U.S. go-to-market and cross-border scale-up.
What’s next for BGV?
Étienne : We’re entering the next chapter with a focused strategy: to solidify our position as the go-to cross-border VC fund, while continuously evolving our thesis in sync with emerging tech, especially AI.
We’re sharpening our lens on Enterprise 5.0 opportunities and want to be a catalyst for the next generation of AI-native companies.
Geographic expansion remains key. Beyond our presence in Silicon Valley, France, India, and Israel, we’re looking to deepen ties in Japan, a strategic country for market potential, corporate partnerships, and industrial innovation.
We’ll also continue investing in ecosystem engagement through content like our “AI-Native Startups Playbook” and by equipping founders with actionable, strategic, and ethical tools.
Ultimately, our mission remains clear: identify the world’s most promising startups, help them win in the U.S., and build global tech champions alongside them.
With a bold cross-border approach and a forward-looking Enterprise 5.0 thesis, BGV has carved a unique place in international venture capital. Its operational support for U.S. market entry, commitment to diversity, and smart use of AI tools make it a valuable partner for founders ready to scale worldwide.