\n<\/p>\n
After two years as a venture capitalist for top shelf firm Benchmark, Victor Lazarte is leaving that company to start his own investing gig, he announced on X on Thursday<\/a>.<\/p>\n Lazarte became known in tech for co-founding mobile gaming company Wildlife Studios, which was last valued at an estimated $3 billion in 2020. Wildlife raised money from a multitude of VCs, including Benchmark.<\/p>\n During his two years at Benchmark, Lazarte invested in recruiting and data labeling startup Mercor<\/a>, AI video intelligence platform HeyGen, and AI infrastructure company Decart AI<\/a>.<\/p>\n Lazarte is leaving Benchmark to \u201cbuild a new investment practice,\u201d he wrote in the post. He had recently informed his portfolio companies about his plans to leave Benchmark, according to a source.<\/p>\n Lazarte is the second investor to step down from Benchmark\u2019s partnership this year. Sarah Tavel, announced in April that she is transitioning to a venture partner<\/a>.<\/p>\n After Lazarte\u2019s departure remaining partners at the storied firm include Peter Fanton, Eric Vishria, and Chetan Puttagunta. <\/p>\n Unlike most VC firms, where senior partners typically receive a greater share of management fees and profits, Benchmark operates as an\u00a0equal partnership<\/a>, with all general partners dividing fees and returns equally. Benchmark and Lazarte did not immediately respond to our request for additional comment.<\/p>\n