# Jacques Benkoski

> Jacques Benkoski is a General Partner at U.S. Venture Partners (USVP) in Menlo Park, California, where he has invested since 2005 with a focus on cybersecurity, cloud infrastructure, enterprise software, and data services. Born in Belgium, educated at the Technion in Israel and Carnegie Mellon, he built his operational chops founding and running EDA and semiconductor startups before turning to early-stage investing across the U.S. and Israel. He is also the author of 'The Market Entry Strategy,' a book drawn from a seminar he gave to over 5,000 entrepreneurs.

- **Role:** General Partner at U.S. Venture Partners (USVP)
- **Organizations:** U.S. Venture Partners (USVP), Technion Israel Institute of Technology (Board of Governors), American Technion Society, Silicon Valley Chapter (Chairman Emeritus), ICON - Israel Collaboration Network (Steering Committee)
- **From:** Belgium
- **Nationality:** Belgian-American
- **Education:** B.Sc. in Computer Engineering, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, M.Sc. in Computer Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University, Ph.D. in Computer Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University
- **Known for:** General Partner at USVP for 20+ years, helping deploy $400M+ in capital across multiple funds, Board member during exits to HPE, Cisco, IBM, Dropbox, Symantec, Broadcom, VMware, Siemens, and Synopsys, Author of 'The Market Entry Strategy,' distilled from a seminar attended by 5,000+ entrepreneurs

## Career timeline

- **~1985-1989** — Researcher at IBM Scientific Center, Haifa, and STMicroelectronics
- **1990s** — Co-founded European subsidiary of Epic Design Technology; company went public in 1994 and was acquired by Synopsys in 1997
- **1997** — Joined Synopsys as Vice President of Strategic Sales following Epic Design acquisition
- **1998** — Joined Monterey Design Systems as EVP of Sales and Marketing
- **1999** — Promoted to President and CEO of Monterey Design Systems
- **2004** — Monterey Design Systems acquired by Synopsys
- **2005** — Joined U.S. Venture Partners (USVP) as General Partner
- **2011-2021** — Board member at Zerto; company acquired by Hewlett Packard Enterprise for $374M
- **2012-2021** — Board member at Kenna Security; company sold to Cisco
- **2022** — Joined board of Ionix following $27M Series A
- **2025** — Published 'The Market Entry Strategy: Charting Your Course to Early Stage Venture Success'

## Achievements

- General Partner at USVP for 20+ years, helping deploy $400M+ in capital across multiple funds
- Board member during exits to HPE, Cisco, IBM, Dropbox, Symantec, Broadcom, VMware, Siemens, and Synopsys
- Author of 'The Market Entry Strategy,' distilled from a seminar attended by 5,000+ entrepreneurs
- Chairman Emeritus of the Silicon Valley Chapter of the American Technion Society
- Member of the Board of Governors of the Technion Israel Institute of Technology
- Co-founded European subsidiary of Epic Design Technology, which IPO'd in 1994
- Led Monterey Design Systems as CEO through successful acquisition by Synopsys in 2004
- Fluent in English, French, and Hebrew

## Latest updates

- **2025-01** — Published 'The Market Entry Strategy: Charting Your Course to Early Stage Venture Success' in paperback, Kindle, and audiobook formats
- **2022-12** — USVP closed Fund XIII at $400M, with Benkoski continuing as General Partner focused on early-stage enterprise
- **2022-06** — Joined the board of Ionix following its $27M Series A funding round

## Links

- Website: https://www.jacquesbenkoski.com
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/jacques-benkoski-ab9133
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/jacbenko
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/US-Venture-Partners-USVP/113779035358509

---

Profile page: https://yespress.io/jacques-benkoski
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-05-18