Lionheart Ventures

Lionheart Ventures is a seed-stage venture capital firm headquartered in San Francisco, California, founded in 2019 by David Langer, a former entrepreneur who previously served as CEO of Zesty (acquired by Square) and GroupSpaces. The firm focuses on the wise development of transformative technologies, concentrating on two core sectors: artificial intelligence safety and frontier mental health technologies, including psychedelic medicine and neuromodulation. In the AI sector, Lionheart invests in companies that defend and enhance human flourishing, agency, and resilience, with an explicit focus on ensuring the transition to powerful AI proceeds responsibly. Notable AI-focused investments include Anthropic and Softmax. In January 2024, the firm launched its Transformative AI Fund (Lionheart AI I), described as the first VC fund specifically focused on AI safety. In mental health, Lionheart targets psychedelic-assisted therapies, novel pharmaceuticals, and non-invasive neurotechnologies. They view improvements in mental health as directly connected to political stability, democratic governance, and better collective decision-making. Portfolio companies in this space include Calm, Reconnect Labs, and others. The firm has a core team of approximately 8 staff and partners, supported by a network of over 17 named advisors drawn from the AI safety and EA communities, including Jeffrey Ladish (Palisade Research), Richard Mallah (Future of Life Institute), Allison Duettmann (Foresight Institute), Justin Shovelain (Convergence Analysis), Zvi Mowshowitz, and Aaron Tucker (FAR AI). As of early 2023, the firm reported over $30 million in assets under management across its funds.