Khosla Ventures bets $10M on Ian Crosby after Bench collapse
Original: Khosla Ventures is betting $10M on Ian Crosby, whose first startup, Bench, imploded
Why This Matters
Shows venture capital willingness to back controversial founders in AI automation
Khosla Ventures led a $10 million seed round for Synthetic, a new startup by Ian Crosby whose previous company Bench Accounting shut down in 2024. Synthetic aims to build fully autonomous AI bookkeeping without human involvement.
Ian Crosby, founder of failed accounting startup Bench, has raised $10 million for his new company Synthetic from Khosla Ventures, Basis Set Ventures, and Shopify CEO Tobias Lütke. Synthetic plans to create fully autonomous AI bookkeeping for software startups, generating accrual-based financials without human involvement. Crosby was fired from Bench's board in 2021 after turning down a $250 million Brex acquisition offer, and the company later collapsed. Khosla partner Jon Chu said he 'runs towards controversy,' citing Parker Conrad's successful Rippling after his Zenefits departure. Crosby admits the AI technology may not yet be feasible, saying 'It's that or bust' for full automation.