Peter Fenton (venture capitalist)
Encyclopedia
Peter Fenton is an American venture capitalist based in Silicon Valley
and is currently a general partner at Benchmark Capital
, a venture capital firm. Fenton graduated with a BA and MBA from Stanford University
and spent seven years as a partner with Accel Partners
before joining Benchmark Capital in 2006.
Fenton has steadily worked his way up the Forbes Midas List of the 100 top technology investors, starting at no. 94 in 2007, then rising to no. 62 in 2008 and no. 50 in 2009. Fenton was ranked no. 4 when Forbes resumed publishing its Midas List in 2011 and was described as the “most productive venture capitalist on our list.”
Noted for his expertise in open source technology, Fenton has invested in JBoss (acquired by Redhat), SpringSource (acquired by VMware) and Zimbra, which was later acquired by VMware. He backed Twitter when it had only 25 employees.
Fenton is also a triathlete who has completed four Half Ironman competitions.
Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley is a term which refers to the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area in Northern California in the United States. The region is home to many of the world's largest technology corporations...
and is currently a general partner at Benchmark Capital
Benchmark Capital
Benchmark Capital is a venture capital firm responsible for the early stage funding of some very successful startups. In 1997, the firm invested $6.7 million in eBay, which became worth more than $5 billion by the spring of 1999. Other high-profile investments include Ariba, Juniper Networks, Red...
, a venture capital firm. Fenton graduated with a BA and MBA from Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
and spent seven years as a partner with Accel Partners
Accel Partners
Accel Partners is a global venture and growth equity firm funding companies from inception through the growth stage.The firm is based in Palo Alto, California with major offices in Bangalore, Beijing, London, and Shanghai....
before joining Benchmark Capital in 2006.
Fenton has steadily worked his way up the Forbes Midas List of the 100 top technology investors, starting at no. 94 in 2007, then rising to no. 62 in 2008 and no. 50 in 2009. Fenton was ranked no. 4 when Forbes resumed publishing its Midas List in 2011 and was described as the “most productive venture capitalist on our list.”
Noted for his expertise in open source technology, Fenton has invested in JBoss (acquired by Redhat), SpringSource (acquired by VMware) and Zimbra, which was later acquired by VMware. He backed Twitter when it had only 25 employees.
Fenton is also a triathlete who has completed four Half Ironman competitions.