Gurley says no LP in Benchmark's history has ever asked them to provide liquidity faster.
“And we've never once, never in the history of the firm as I ever recall a limited partner calling us and saying why aren't you getting us liquidity faster?”
Gurley says late-stage investors enable two-year employee liquidity at OpenAI and Stripe, removing IPO pressure.
“one of the things they're doing is they're supporting massive founder liquidity and employee liquidity. And so that's happening at Stripe, that's happening.”
Gurley notes US universities issued $12B debt in Q1 2025, third highest ever, signaling liquidity crisis.
“US colleges and universities issued $12,000,000,000 of debt, which was the third highest quarter ever.”
Gurley questions if Yale model works when universally adopted, notes Yale itself selling $6B.
“What if everyone goes to 50% illiquid? Will it still work? I think that's a provocative question. But I think that's what happened for sure.”