Seed-stage VC, US
Lerer Hippeau
Venture capital firm · New York City · Founded 2010
Quick read
Lerer Hippeau is a seed-stage VC firm founded in 2010, headquartered in New York City. It leads pre-seed and seed rounds across consumer and enterprise, with 400+ portfolio companies including Warby Parker, Glossier, and Allbirds. The firm recently closed a $200M ninth fund and is co-chairing a celebration of 30 years of Silicon Alley.
Key facts
- Founded
- 2010
- Founders
- Kenneth Lerer, Ben Lerer, Eric Hippeau
- Employees
- 11-50
- Sectors
- generalist, consumer, enterprise, saas, fintech, ai
- Website
- lererhippeau.com
Investment thesis
Lerer Hippeau leads pre-seed and seed rounds in consumer and enterprise startups, aiming to be the first institutional investor. The firm backs founders with strong product vision and brand-building instincts, investing across all sectors without geographic or category constraints.
Recent activity
- Jul 2025leadershipRon Zori joined Lerer Hippeau as Venture Partner for Fund IX — the first venture partner in the firm's history. Zori is an angel investor and operator with a decade of investing in New York, including deals alongside LH. businesswire.com
- Apr 2025fundraiseLerer Hippeau closed $200M for LH Fund IX, its ninth seed fund. The oversubscribed raise exceeds LH Fund VIII's $140M close. Several dozen LH portfolio founders participated as LPs. The fund targets pre-seed and seed-stage companies. businesswire.com
- Mar 2025investmentLerer Hippeau co-led a $8M seed round in Journey alongside Slow Ventures, Everywhere Ventures, and others. signal.nfx.com
- Jan 2025pressThe firm marked 15 years of operation and kicked off a content series celebrating 30 years of New York's tech scene, featuring a podcast with Managing Partner Ben Lerer on founding Thrillist and Group Nine Media. businesswire.com
- Jun 2026investmentLerer Hippeau's latest investment was in Scotch as part of a Series A on June 4, 2026, bringing its total investments to 730. cbinsights.com
- May 2026pressPortfolio company Everlane exited — Lerer Hippeau's most recent portfolio exit as of May 17, 2026. cbinsights.com
- Mar 2026pressManaging partner Eric Hippeau appeared on CNBC's 'Money Movers' to discuss SpaceX and IPO markets. cnbc.com
- Apr 2025fundraiseLerer Hippeau closed its ninth fund at $200 million — up from $140 million for fund eight. techcrunch.com
- Oct 2025investmentPortfolio company Magic emerged from stealth with Loyalist, an AI platform for personalized hospitality, raising $10 million in seed funding. zoominfo.com
- Sep 2025investmentLe Walk, an audio tour guide app, raised a $4.1 million seed round led by Adverb Ventures and Lerer Hippeau. profiles.crustdata.com
- Jul 2025leadershipRon Zori was named venture partner for Fund IX, the $200M early-stage fund that closed in April 2025. venturecapitaljournal.com
- Apr 2025fundraiseLerer Hippeau closed LH Fund IX at $200M, oversubscribed and up from Fund VIII's $140M. The fund focuses exclusively on early-stage investments and brings total AUM to approximately $1.5B across nine funds. superscout.co
Notable investments
- JourneySeedMar 2025signal.nfx.com
- AugmodoSeries A2025tracxn.com
- ScotchSeries AJun 2026cbinsights.com
- BRAMISeries BJun 2026tracxn.com
- TextureSeries AMay 2025cbinsights.com
- Magic (Loyalist)SeedOct 2025zoominfo.com
- WeatherPromiseSeries A2025zoominfo.com
- Le WalkSeedSep 2025profiles.crustdata.com
- TiltSeed2025yourinfodaily.com
- Lockchain.aiSeed2025execmag.com
- ZiplineEarly Stagestartupintros.com
- K HealthEarly Stagestartupintros.com
Key people
Named individuals at the firm. We don't expose direct email or phone — use their LinkedIn for outreach.
- Ben Lerer · Managing Partner
- Eric Hippeau · Managing Partner
- Graham Brown · Managing Partner
- Kenneth Lerer · Managing Director Emeritus
- Andrea Hippeau · Partner
- Joe Medved · Partner
- Will McKelvey · Principal
- Julian Moncada · Senior Associate
Sources
- Lerer Hippeau LinkedIn
- Everything Startups - Lerer Hippeau
- Lerer Hippeau | Startup Intros
- Andrea Hippeau - The AI Summit New York
- Lockchain.ai Seed Round Announcement
- Kenneth Lerer - Wikipedia
- Joe Medved LinkedIn
- Will McKelvey LinkedIn
- https://www.venturecapitaljournal.com/lerer-hippeau-taps-ron-zori-as-venture-partner-for-fund-ix/
- https://superscout.co/investor/lerer-hippeau
- https://www.yourinfodaily.com/p/tilt-founded-by-andrew-peek-raises-71m-seed-funding-led-by-portage-and-lerer-hippeau
- https://thegtmnewsletter.substack.com/p/early-stage-vc-founder-selection-ben-lerer-lerer-hippeau
- https://www.cbinsights.com/investor/lerer-hippeau-ventures
- https://www.cnbc.com/video/2026/03/31/watch-cnbcs-full-interview-with-lehrer-hippeaus-eric-hippeau.html
- https://techcrunch.com/2025/04/09/more-good-news-for-new-york-startups-lerer-hippeau-raised-another-200m/
- https://www.zoominfo.com/c/lerer-hippeau-ventures/359682617
- https://profiles.crustdata.com/company/lerer-hippeau
- https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250721242784/en/Lerer-Hippeau-Welcomes-Angel-Investor-and-Operator-Ron-Zori-to-Fund-IX-as-Venture-Partner
- https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250408846322/en/Lerer-Hippeau-Closes-$200M-for-Ninth-Seed-Fund
- https://signal.nfx.com/investors/eric-hippeau
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Frequently asked
What is Lerer Hippeau?+
Lerer Hippeau is a seed-stage VC firm founded in 2010, headquartered in New York City. It leads pre-seed and seed rounds across consumer and enterprise, with 400+ portfolio companies including Warby Parker, Glossier, and Allbirds.
Where is Lerer Hippeau headquartered?+
Lerer Hippeau is headquartered in New York City, United States.
When was Lerer Hippeau founded?+
Lerer Hippeau was founded in 2010 by Kenneth Lerer, Ben Lerer, Eric Hippeau.
What sectors does Lerer Hippeau invest in?+
Lerer Hippeau focuses on generalist, consumer, enterprise, saas, fintech, ai. They primarily invest in these sectors.
How do I prepare for a meeting with Lerer Hippeau?+
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