Lerer Hippeau: New York's Seed Powerhouse, from HuffPost Roots to Warby Parker

Founded in 2010 by the team behind the Huffington Post, Lerer Hippeau is New York's most active seed investor — 400+ companies backed, a $200M Fund IX, and a founder community that's unmatched in the city.

The firm

Founded in 2010 in New York City by Ken Lerer, Ben Lerer and Eric Hippeau, Lerer Hippeau is an early-stage venture capital firm that aims to be the first institutional investor in a startup's life. Ken Lerer — who co-founded The Huffington Post in 2005 and was a past executive vice president of AOL Time Warner — and his co-founders built the firm around operator experience: they invest early and stay in their founders' corners. The firm's own portfolio page counts 486 portfolio companies since 2010 with $1.5 billion invested.

Thesis and sectors

Lerer Hippeau calls itself a generalist investor specialising in pre-seed and seed, investing across consumer, enterprise, fintech, media, healthcare, D2C, food and beverage, proptech and AI. Its investment thesis: back founders with product vision, consumer insight, focused execution and unwavering ambition — the entrepreneurs "who aren't afraid to do hard things." The team describes itself as "a New York team unlocking this city and its networks for founders."

Funds

In April 2025 Lerer Hippeau closed Fund IX, a $200 million seed fund — up from $143 million for Fund VIII in 2022. The firm also runs Select funds for follow-on investments in its breakout winners. A team of 20 early-stage specialists across investment and operational roles supports the portfolio.

Landmark portfolio wins

The portfolio spans more than 400 leading enterprise and consumer businesses, including Warby Parker, MIRROR, Venmo, Oscar, Glossier and BuzzFeed — alongside newer standouts Blockdaemon, K Health, Guideline, ZenBusiness, Zipline, Palmetto, Hungryroot, Prose, Crexi, Splice and Allbirds.

Partners

Managing partners Ben Lerer, Eric Hippeau and Graham Brown lead the firm, with Isabelle Phelps and Ron Zori as partners, Joe Medved as chief strategy officer and Andrea Hippeau as head of portfolio management.

What founders get

Lerer Hippeau sells operatorship: founder-operators who have built media and consumer companies themselves, a deep New York network, and dedicated portfolio-management support. Its "first institutional cheque" positioning means it leads early and keeps supporting through growth — a community of hundreds of founders in and out of New York.

Why it matters for founders

For New York founders, Lerer Hippeau is the seed-stage institution — the most active early-stage fund in the city, with a $200M Fund IX now deploying. Its pre-seed/seed focus and operator-led team make it ideal for founders writing their first institutional chapter, especially in consumer, fintech and AI. If you're building in New York, this is the first door to knock on.