Benchmark Names Gideon Barak as Venture Partner
November 15 2005 - 8:00AM
PR Newswire (US)
HERZLYIA PITUACH, Israel and MENLO PARK, Calif., Nov. 15
/PRNewswire/ -- Benchmark Capital, a leading early-stage
high-technology venture capital firm, today announced that Gideon
Barak has joined the firm as a venture partner in Israel. Gideon
will leverage his extensive company-building experience to work
with the firm's portfolio, as well as assist the firm to invest in
new opportunities. "Gideon is a cornerstone of the Israeli
high-tech industry. He has helped build many successful companies
and has become a trusted advisor to numerous top Israeli
entrepreneurs," said Nachman Shelef, general partner at Benchmark
Capital. "Gideon's vast experience will be a real asset to our
companies, and we look forward to building great companies
together." Gideon brings more than 25 years of experience in
consumer electronics and wireless technologies to his new role at
Benchmark. Previously, he was co- founder and CEO of DSP
Communications (NASDAQ:DSPC), a developer of chips for mobile
phones, which was acquired by Intel for $1.6 billion. He also
served as Chairman of Butterfly VLSI, a company which developed
Bluetooth chipsets and became the short-range wireless division of
Texas Instruments. He co- founded Envara, which developed wireless
LAN networks and was acquired by Intel to become part of its WiMAX
development group. He was also an investor and active board member
in Modem Art, which was acquired by Agere Systems. Gideon currently
serves as Chairman of IXI Mobile and Advasense. "Benchmark has a
proven track record of turning young companies into market
leaders," said Gideon Barak. "I am proud to join the firm as a
venture partner, and I look forward to working closely with this
world-class team of venture capital professionals." About Benchmark
Capital Benchmark Capital was founded in 1995 to help talented
entrepreneurs build great technology companies. Benchmark's
partners take a team-oriented, labor- intensive approach to venture
investing to deliver a superior level of service to the firm's
portfolio companies. Benchmark's portfolio includes franchise
companies such as eBay, Equinix, Handspring, JAMDAT, Juniper
Networks, Red Hat, and ZipRealty. Managing more than $3 billion in
committed venture capital, Benchmark focuses on investing in
entrepreneurs with original ideas. For more information on
Benchmark, visit its website at http://www.benchmark.com/.
EDITORIAL CONTACTS: Ilan Vagenshtein Media-Tec Public Relations For
Benchmark Capital Israel 972-3-673-9870 972-544-305-489 Stephanie
Gnibus GMK Communications For Benchmark Capital US 408-776-9727
408-396-4449 DATASOURCE: Benchmark Capital CONTACT: Ilan
Vagenshtein of Media-Tec Public Relations, 972-3-673-9870, or
972-544-305-489, or , for Benchmark Capital Israel; or Stephanie
Gnibus of GMK Communications, +1-408-776-9727, or +1-408-396-4449,
or , for Benchmark Capital US Web site: http://www.benchmark.com/
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