Roy Bahat (b. 1977) is a venture capitalist, educator, and activist. He is currently the head of Bloomberg Beta, the venture capital arm of Bloomberg. He teaches at UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business.
Roy Bahat | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | circa. 1977[1] |
| Alma mater | Harvard University and University of Oxford[1] |
| Occupation(s) | Venture capitalist and activist |
| Employer | Bloomberg Beta |
| Title | Head of Bloomberg Beta |
| Website | Personal website |
Early life and education
editBahat was born in 1977.[1] His mother worked for the American Jewish Committee and his father was an architect.[1] He graduated from Harvard University magna cum laude and was a Rhodes Scholar at the University of Oxford.[1] At Oxford, Bahat earned a Master's degree in economics.[1]
Career
editIn 2002 Bahat worked for then-New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg as the Senior Policy Director.[2] He left to work for a non-profit called NYC2012, which advocated for the 2012 Summer Olympics to be held in New York City.[3] In 2007, Bahat started at News Corporation.[1] He later led the News Corp. brand IGN Entertainment.[4] Bahat left News Corp. in August 2012.[5] He also cofounded a gaming console company called OUYA and created a non-profit.[2]
Bahat has been a venture capitalist since about 2012.[2] He was known in part for funding smaller startups where the founders still had day jobs.[2] In September 2020, Bahat moved temporarily to Milwaukee, Wisconsin in an effort to influence politics in a swing state.[6] He raised money for the Democratic party.[6] He was also involved with "Walk the Vote," a non-partisan group that organizes marches to voting booths.[6] Bahat was on the board of a New York City Jewish day school called the Abraham Joshua Heschel School.[1]
Bahat and his partners invested in artificial intelligence company Newsle in 2014.[7] Roy Bahat advised the first Starbucks union organizers.[8]
In 2013, Bloomberg Beta was created and Bahat was appointed head of the new entity.[9] Bahat is a partner of Bloomberg Beta along with Karin Klein and James Cham.[10] Bahat started teaching an MBA course on leading a unionized workforce at University of California, Berkeley.[11] He also was a member of the Future of Work Commission, a governmental organization focused on economic growth in California.[10]
Personal life
editBahat is married with two children.[6] He and his wife are both involved in political activism in support of the Democratic party in the United States.[6] His wife works in the arts.[6] Bahat and his wife married in 2007.[1]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f g h i "Sara Fenske, Roy Bahat". The New York Times. May 27, 2007. Retrieved April 20, 2023.
- ^ a b c d Shibu, Sherin (October 23, 2019). "Here's how a former New York City policy wonk transitioned from a City Hall job to running an early-stage VC fund". Business Insider. Retrieved April 20, 2023.
- ^ Thrush, Glenn (February 3, 2004). "An Eye on the Prize / Mayor wants award-winning students". Newsday. p. A03.
- ^ "Bloomberg Begins Fund to Invest in Start-Ups". The New York Times. June 5, 2013. Retrieved April 20, 2023.
- ^ Grubb, Jeff (October 16, 2012). "Going once; going twice: News Corp. to auction off IGN Entertainment". VentureBeat. Retrieved April 20, 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f Kassel, Matthew (November 3, 2020). "The Silicon Valley VC who decamped to Wisconsin to get out the vote". Jewish Insider. Retrieved April 20, 2023.
- ^ Rafieyan, Darius (September 18, 2023). "'The scholar, the pragmatist, and the rainmaker:' How three Bloomberg Beta VCs bet on AI before it became a buzzword". Business Insider. Retrieved October 17, 2023.
- ^ Lapowsky, Issie (August 31, 2023). "This VC believes in unions. Can he convince the rest of corporate America to join him?". Fast Company. Retrieved October 17, 2023.
- ^ Lawler, Ryan (June 5, 2013). "Bloomberg Launches Bloomberg Beta, A $75 Million Early-Stage Investment Fund Led By Former IGN Exec Roy Bahat". TechCrunch. Retrieved April 20, 2023.
- ^ a b Loizos, Connie (October 18, 2019). "Bloomberg Beta, now six years old, closes its third $75 million fund". TechCrunch. Retrieved May 2, 2023.
- ^ "Authorities Step Up Their Crypto Crackdown". The New York Times. February 17, 2023. Retrieved May 2, 2023.