Ben Parr

Overview

Ben Parr is an American entrepreneur, author, and investor specializing in early-stage technology companies. He is the President and Co-Founder of Octane AI, a profitable AI platform for e-commerce brands that powers AI-enabled insights and quizzes. Octane AI, founded in 2016, is backed by General Catalyst, Bullpen, and other top Silicon Valley investors and was named the Best Storefront App award by Shopify. In addition, Ben is Managing Partner & Co-Founder of Theory Forge Ventures, an early-stage AI-focused venture fund backing the next generation of transformative AI startups at their earliest stages — active AI founders backing AI founders. Ben is an influential voice in the AI community, serving as an AI columnist for The Information and authoring his popular newsletter, The AI Analyst. He started his career as Co-Editor and Editor-at-Large of Mashable, where he wrote over 2,400 articles and interviewed the world’s top technology and media leaders. He was also a technology columnist and commentator for CNET. Ben is a frequent public speaker and makes regular television appearances. He has been a technology commentator for CNBC, CNN, MSNBC, and NBC's Press:here. In 2015, Parr joined the innovation advisory board of Lufthansa. His term expired in 2018. In March 2017, Parr was elected to the board of directors of Samasource, a non-profit business with the mission to reduce global poverty by connecting unemployed people in the United States and impoverished countries to digital work. Parr is signed by Worldwide Speakers Group for speaking engagements and public appearances.

Investment Focus

• Innovative technology solutions
• Scalable business models
• Strong founding teams

Portfolio Companies