Lerer Hippeau

Overview

Lerer Hippeau is a venture capital firm founded in 2010 [5][11] based in New York [7][15]. The firm invests in early-stage and growth-stage startups across various sectors [8], positioning itself as backing founders "before they're famous" [2][9]. It operates across pre-seed through Series C funding stages [1][2]. Since its founding, Lerer Hippeau has backed 486 portfolio companies [10], including notable exits such as Warby Parker, Venmo, and Glossier [13]. The firm's recent investments span multiple sectors, including artificial intelligence companies such as Scaled Cognition, P-1 AI, and Symbiotic Security [3][14]. Lerer Hippeau is listed among the top venture capital firms in New York City [1]. The firm is led by managing partners Ben Lerer and Eric Hippeau [12].

Listed among the top venture capital firms in New York City, investing pre-seed through Series C [1] (Jan 19, 2026)

The company's own site places it in New York: Text explicitly states 'LH among most active NYC investors' and lists the company as based in New York through this self-identification.. [7]

Lerer Hippeau's team page lists managing partners Ben Lerer and Eric Hippeau as having been with the firm since 2010. [11]

Lerer Hippeau describes itself as "a New York team unlocking this city and its networks for founders". [15]

Business address: 100 Crosby Street, New York, New York, 10012. [16]

Growth & traction

Lerer Hippeau's portfolio page states "486 Portfolio Companies Since 2010". [10]

Lerer Hippeau's team page lists managing partners Ben Lerer (since 2010), Eric Hippeau (since 2010) and Graham Brown (since 2015), and partner Isabelle Phelps (since 2018), alongside venture partners, investors, directors and assistants. [12]

Customers

Lerer Hippeau's portfolio includes Warby Parker, Venmo, Glossier, Hungryroot, Guideline, ZenBusiness, Zipline, K Health, Oscar, Splice, MIRROR, ClassDojo and Opentrons. [13]

Recent Lerer Hippeau investments highlighted on its homepage include Climatic, Augmodo, Scaled Cognition, P-1 AI, Symbiotic Security, Elm Biosciences, WeatherPromise, Haven Energy and Ollie. [14]