Matt Cohler

Matt Cohler
Matt Cohler, January 2008
Matt Cohler
Born	27 3, 1977
Birthplace	New York City, United States
Nationality	American
Occupation	Venture capitalist, corporate director
Employer	KKR & Co.
Known for	Former Vice President of Product Management at Facebook; former General Partner at Benchmark; Director at KKR & Co.
Spouse(s)	Pia Pernille Øien Cohler
Awards	Forbes Midas List; Forbes 40 Under 40

Matt Cohler (born March 27, 1977) is an American venture capitalist, technology executive, and corporate director. He first gained prominence as an early employee at Facebook, where he served as Vice President of Product Management before departing in June 2008 to join the venture capital firm Benchmark as a general partner. During his decade at Benchmark, Cohler assembled a portfolio that included investments in companies such as Instagram, Uber, Snapchat, Quora, Asana, and the dating application Tinder, among others. He stepped back from Benchmark in 2018 and subsequently became a director at KKR & Co., the global investment firm. Cohler has been recognized on the Forbes Midas List of top technology investors and was named to the New York Times and CB Insights list of top ten venture capital investors in 2019. Born and raised in New York City and educated at Yale University, he has been a figure in the technology and venture capital ecosystems since the mid-2000s.

Early Life

Matt Cohler was born on March 27, 1977, in New York City. He grew up in the New York metropolitan area. Details of his family background and childhood are not extensively documented in public sources. Cohler attended Yale University, where he completed his undergraduate education.

Education

Cohler is a graduate of Yale University. The specific details of his degree program and year of graduation are not well documented in available sources, though his educational background at the Ivy League institution preceded his entry into the technology industry during the early 2000s dot-com era.

Career

Early Career and LinkedIn

Before joining Facebook, Cohler worked in the technology sector during the period following the dot-com bubble. He was among the early employees at LinkedIn, the professional networking platform founded by Reid Hoffman. This experience placed Cohler within the network of Silicon Valley technology entrepreneurs and executives who would go on to shape the social media landscape of the 2000s.

Facebook (2005–2008)

Cohler joined Facebook during its early stages of growth and rose to the position of Vice President of Product Management. In this role, he was involved in shaping the direction of the social networking platform during a period of rapid expansion, as Facebook grew from a college-oriented network to a global social media company. His tenure at the company coincided with a critical phase in Facebook's development, as it opened its platform beyond university campuses and began attracting significant venture capital investment.

In June 2008, Cohler departed Facebook to pursue a career in venture capital. His departure was noted in the technology press as a significant loss for the company. Technology journalist Kara Swisher reported on his move to Benchmark Capital. As an early employee of Facebook, Cohler was among a cohort of former Facebook staffers who leveraged their experience and financial gains from the company to become investors and founders of new technology ventures.

Benchmark (2008–2018)

Cohler joined Benchmark, one of Silicon Valley's most prominent venture capital firms, as a general partner in mid-2008. His arrival at the firm came at a turbulent time for the broader economy, as the financial crisis of 2007–2008 was unfolding. In October 2008, just months after joining Benchmark, Cohler participated in discussions about the impact of the economic downturn on venture capital and the technology sector.

Despite the challenging macroeconomic environment, Cohler built a portfolio at Benchmark that came to include some of the most consequential technology companies of the late 2000s and 2010s. His investment track record encompassed a range of sectors, including social media, enterprise software, cybersecurity, and consumer internet applications.

Notable Investments

Instagram: Benchmark's investment in Instagram, the photo-sharing application, proved to be one of the firm's most profitable bets. When Facebook acquired Instagram for approximately $1 billion in 2012, the deal generated substantial returns for Benchmark. Cohler, as a former Facebook executive who was investing in the very companies Facebook would seek to acquire, occupied a unique position within Silicon Valley's investment ecosystem.

Quora: In March 2010, Benchmark invested in Quora, the question-and-answer website, at an $86 million valuation. Cohler was involved in this investment.

ResearchGate: In September 2010, Benchmark Capital and Accel Partners invested in ResearchGate, the social networking site for scientists and researchers, marking a notable cross-Atlantic investment for both firms.

Snapchat and Uber: Benchmark's portfolio during Cohler's tenure included investments in Snapchat (later Snap Inc.) and Uber, both of which became among the most prominent technology companies of the 2010s. A 2014 interview with Benchmark partners, including Cohler, discussed the firm's investment thesis behind Snapchat and other portfolio companies.

Duo Security: In September 2014, Benchmark led a $12 million funding round for Duo Security, a cybersecurity company. Cohler was involved in this investment.

Xapo: In 2014, Benchmark backed Xapo, a Bitcoin storage and wallet provider. Cohler was listed among those associated with the investment.

Other investments: Cohler's broader portfolio at Benchmark also included luxury marketplace 1stDibs, productivity software maker Asana, and dating application Tinder.

Uber Board Membership

During his time at Benchmark, Cohler served on the board of directors of Uber. Benchmark's relationship with Uber became one of the most closely watched dynamics in Silicon Valley, particularly during the tumultuous events surrounding the departure of Uber co-founder and CEO Travis Kalanick in 2017. Cohler's role as a board member placed him at the center of these corporate governance discussions.

Industry Engagement

Cohler was an active participant in Silicon Valley's technology community during his years at Benchmark. In 2012, he appeared at the TechCrunch Disrupt SF conference alongside Path founder Dave Morin. He also participated in public discussions about technology industry trends and investment strategies.

Cohler was also a supporter of FWD.us, the immigration reform advocacy group co-founded by Mark Zuckerberg and other technology industry leaders.

Departure from Benchmark

In October 2018, it was reported that Cohler would step back from Benchmark and would not be a part of the firm's next fund. The technology news outlet Vox described Cohler as "one of the most successful investors in Silicon Valley" and "one of the most prescient and precocious investors in the sector." His departure was part of a broader transition at the firm, with investor Mitch Lasky also mentioned in the context of changes to Benchmark's partnership.

KKR & Co.

Following his departure from Benchmark, Cohler transitioned to the world of large-scale private equity. He became a director on the board of KKR & Co., the global investment firm listed on the New York Stock Exchange. In February 2025, Cohler purchased 43,872 shares of KKR common stock, a transaction valued at approximately $4.5 million. This purchase came during a period described as a challenging week for asset managers, and was part of a broader pattern of insider buying at KKR, as co-CEOs Joseph Bae and Scott Nuttall also purchased a combined $25.6 million worth of KKR stock around the same time.

Personal Life

Cohler is married to Pia Pernille Øien Cohler. He has maintained residences in multiple cities. In October 2019, Cohler listed a Manhattan penthouse for $29.5 million, a property described as "swanky" by The Wall Street Journal.

In July 2025, Bloomberg News reported that Cohler had purchased a London mansion for approximately £22 million (roughly $30 million). The Bloomberg report also noted that Cohler had "backed opponents of Donald Trump in last year's elections," providing a rare public indication of his political activity.

Recognition

Cohler has received several notable accolades throughout his career in venture capital and technology:

Forbes Midas List: Cohler was named to the Forbes Midas List, an annual ranking of the top deal makers in technology, reflecting his investment returns and influence in the venture capital industry.

Forbes 40 Under 40: In 2015, Cohler was included on the Forbes list of "America's 40 Richest Entrepreneurs Under 40," a recognition of his financial success and entrepreneurial impact before the age of 40.

New York Times / CB Insights Top 10: In 2019, Cohler was named to the New York Times and CB Insights list of the top ten venture capital investors, a ranking that evaluated investors based on the performance of their portfolio companies.

These recognitions placed Cohler among the upper tier of venture capital practitioners during the 2010s, a period of significant growth and returns in the technology sector.

Legacy

Matt Cohler's career trajectory — from early employee at a transformative technology company to prominent venture capital investor to director at a major global investment firm — mirrors the broader evolution of the technology industry's financial ecosystem during the 2000s and 2010s. His move from Facebook to Benchmark in 2008 was emblematic of a pattern in which early employees of successful startups leveraged their operational experience and network connections to become investors in the next generation of technology companies.

At Benchmark, Cohler's investment portfolio included companies across the consumer internet, enterprise software, and emerging technology sectors. The firm's investments in companies such as Instagram, Uber, and Snapchat during Cohler's tenure contributed to Benchmark's reputation as one of the top-performing venture capital firms of its era.

His transition from Benchmark to KKR reflected a broader trend in the investment world, as traditional distinctions between venture capital and private equity continued to blur in the 2020s. As a director at KKR, Cohler brought technology-sector expertise to a firm historically rooted in leveraged buyouts and large-scale corporate transactions.

The CNET technology publication had noted Cohler's rising influence in the venture capital world as early as 2011.