Arad Naveh
Partner
Benchmark
Benchmark Capital Israel partner and former Cisco Israel investment and M&A lead.
Bio
Professional summary
Eric Vishria is a General Partner at Benchmark. Public sources describe his investment focus as early-stage AI, infrastructure, machine learning, cloud, and enterprise software. Before Benchmark, he co-founded and led Rockmelt, which was acquired by Yahoo, and held operating roles at Yahoo, HP Software, Opsware, and Loudcloud. His Benchmark work has been associated with infrastructure and enterprise software companies including Confluent, Amplitude, Benchling, Contentful, Cerebras Systems, Fireworks.ai, and Quilter.
Investment focus
Stage, sector, and overall fit
Stage
early stage
Sector
AIinfrastructuremachine learningcloudenterprise software
Thesis
Early-stage AIInfrastructure, machine learning, and cloudEnterprise software
Notable companies
Selected portfolio companies the partner has backed
Cerebras SystemsBenchlingContentfulConfluentAmplitudeFireworks.aiQuilterRockmelt
How to approach
Framing and angles for outreach
Pitch framing
Emphasize differentiated technical infrastructure, AI platform leverage, or enterprise software adoption, especially if the company has evidence of deep technical advantage and fast learning cycles.
Personalization hooks
- 1Reference his operator background from Loudcloud/Opsware/Rockmelt when discussing founder-product decisions.
- 2Connect the pitch to infrastructure or enterprise software lessons from companies such as Confluent, Amplitude, Benchling, or Cerebras.
Recent signals
What the partner has said or done recently
Forbes profile updated in May 2025 describes Vishria's current Benchmark focus and board/investment roles.
Public VC podcast profile in 2024 discussed his views on where AI value accrues across chips, models, and applications.
Background
Career, education, and skills
Career history
- BenchmarkGeneral Partner2014 – Present
- Cerebras SystemsBoard Member2016 – Present
- ContentfulBoard Member2016 – Present
- BenchlingBoard Member2018 – Present
- Commerce LayerBoard Member2020 – Present
Education
- Stanford UniversityBS, Mathematical & Computational Science1997-1999
Skills
AI infrastructure investingEnterprise softwareProduct managementBoard leadership
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