David Thévenon has departed from his position at internet and telecommunications group SoftBank’s Vision Fund to join UK-based venture capital firm Balderton Capital as a general partner.
SoftBank Investment Advisers recruited Thévenon in 2016 as a founding partner of the $98.6bn Vision Fund, two years after he joined SoftBank as a managing director.
Thévenon had previously spent almost a decade at internet technology provider Google organising partnership initiatives for products such as mobile operating system Android.
During his time at SoftBank, Thévenon led its investments in ride hailing services Didi Chuxing, Grab, Ola and 99 in addition to digital insurance provider Lemonade and online lenders Kabbage and SoFi.
Thévenon said: “Five years ago I left Google to focus on venture investing at SoftBank and I felt privileged to meet, invest and work with some of the most innovative and visionary founders, supporting them as they grew into market-leading companies.
“Joining Balderton will allow me to continue this for European-founded companies, and I am truly excited about the opportunity ahead.”
Balderton hired Thévenon at the same time as another general partner, Rana Yared, who had led investment banking firm Goldman Sachs’ Principal Strategic Investment teams in Europe and the US, having originally joined the firm as an analyst in 2006.
Photo of David Thévenon courtesy of Balderton Capital.
