What You Should Know
- Wisdom Ventures has closed its $77.7M Fund II, a significant increase from its $10 million Fund I.
- The fund is backed by prominent technology leaders, including Reid Hoffman (LinkedIn), Evan Sharp (Pinterest), and Stewart Butterfield (Slack).
- Former U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy has joined as a Senior Venture Partner to advise on health and wellness investments.
- Fund I established a strong track record, reaching the top quartile of early-stage funds and including early investments in OpenAI and Anthropic.
- The firm maintains a strict commitment to diversity, with 74% of the Fund I portfolio featuring founding teams with diverse race, gender, and sexual orientations.
As artificial intelligence reshapes the global landscape, the question of how technology impacts human flourishing has moved to the forefront of venture capital. Wisdom Ventures, a firm dedicated to “compassionate innovation,” has announced the close of an oversubscribed $77.7M Fund II to address this challenge. The fund aims to deepen investments in startups that use AI to advance human resilience, mental and physical health, and genuine connection at scale.
The mission is supported by a unique leadership team that bridges high-level Silicon Valley product experience with deep roots in mindfulness. Led by General Partners Bradley Horowitz (former VP of Product at Google), Cecily Mak, and Soren Gordhamer (founder of the Wisdom 2.0 conference), the firm provides a “whole-founder” support model that integrates meditation and community check-ins alongside traditional capital.
Scaling Wellbeing in the AI Era
Fund II plans to deploy checks between $1M and $5M into approximately 40 mission-driven startups. This expansion follows the success of Fund I, which proved that mission-driven investing could deliver elite financial returns while adhering to core human values.
Dr. Vivek Murthy, advising the fund, emphasized that the current mental and physical health crises demand a fundamental shift in how technology is built. By backing founders who prioritize human connection and emotional intelligence, Wisdom Ventures is positioning itself as the primary “Intelligence Layer” for the wellbeing economy.
Performance and Inclusivity Metrics
Wisdom Ventures has demonstrated that inclusivity is a mechanical driver of performance rather than a secondary goal. Key metrics from Fund I include:
- Top-Quartile Performance: Rapidly ascended to the top 25% of early-stage funds since 2022.
- Diverse Founding Teams: 74% of the portfolio includes diverse race, gender, and sexual orientations among founders.
- Strategic Markups: The 38-startup portfolio already includes 14 markups and major category-defining companies like Anthropic, OpenAI, and Function Health.
