Rising Stars: New York’s Top Venture Capitalists Under 30 Shaping the Future
New York City’s venture capital scene is thriving, thanks to a new generation of young investors making waves across industries like AI, healthcare, consumer tech, and more. These under-30 VCs bring fresh perspectives, diverse backgrounds, and impressive track records to some of the most prominent firms in the Big Apple.
Meet the Next Generation of NYC Investors
From Female Founders Fund to Lerer Hippeau, these rising stars are backing innovative startups while balancing passions like pickleball, painting, and podcasting. Here’s a look at the standout VCs under 30 who are redefining venture capital in New York.
Layla Alexander — Female Founders Fund
Background: At just 25, Alexander transitioned from internships at Cleo Capital and Harlem Capital to becoming an investor at Female Founders Fund in 2022.
Notable Focus Areas: She specializes in the care economy, enterprise climate tech, and healthcare—high-growth sectors with significant potential. Her portfolio includes astrology app Co-Star and Winnie Harlow’s Cay Skin.
Personal Interests: An avid runner and Pilates enthusiast, she seeks founders with deep market knowledge, strong user retention, and scalable business models.
Talia Askowitz — Deerfield Management
Background: Askowitz, 26, made history as Deerfield’s youngest partner at 25. Her previous roles include business intelligence at AMC Health and research at Mount Sinai Health Systems.
Achievements: Recognized on Forbes’ 30 Under 30 (2025), she has helped deploy over $500M in capital.
Fun Fact: Co-authored three research papers during her time at Mount Sinai.
Lori Berenberg — Bloomberg Beta
Background: After product management roles, Berenberg, 29, pivoted to VC, leveraging her technical expertise to evaluate startups.
Notable Work: Led a feature at MongoDB now awaiting patent approval.
Investing Philosophy: Seeks “extraordinary” companies with transformative potential. Off-duty, she enjoys needlepoint and vintage fashion.
Alex Chung — Chai Ventures
Background: Mentored by SoftBank’s Serena Dayal, Chung, 26, entered VC with a focus on women’s health innovation.
Why She Stands Out: Advocates for underfunded sectors with massive growth opportunities.
Hobbies: Running, racquet sports, and needlepointing.
Besart Çopa — Antler
Background: A former founder (Chestr), Çopa, 27, now invests at Antler, supporting early-stage startups.
Unique Perspective: Believes in letting young founders explore life before diving into entrepreneurship.
Passions: History, painting, and backing niche solutions to specific problems.
Ethan Daly — Shine Capital
Background: Daly, 27, rose from investment banking to partner at Shine in four years.
Portfolio Highlights: Backed FlamingoDAO and Notion.
George Easley — Outsiders Fund
Background: Easley, 29, focuses on AI and robotics investments after roles at ICONIQ and Bridgewater.
Forbes 30 Under 30: Instrumental in deploying $25M+ into startups like Breedr and Cercle.
Marina Girgis — Precursor VC
Background: Girgis, 29, transitioned from semiconductor research to pre-seed investing.
Notable Picks: Backed AI security startup Edera.
Industry Wish: More openness to diverse founder backgrounds.
Laura Hamilton — Notable Capital
Background: Hamilton, 26, landed her VC role through relentless networking.
Focus Areas: Data infrastructure, cybersecurity, and “agent infrastructure” in AI.
Side Hustles: Hosts the Partner Path podcast and runs FemBuild Collective for female engineers.
Emily Herrera — Slow Ventures
Background: Herrera, 25, specializes in consumer tech and the creator economy.
Recognition: Named one of Fast Company’s savviest creator economy investors in 2022.
Bryce Johnson — Primary Venture Partners
Background: Johnson, 25, pivoted from Big Tech to VC, advocating for diversity in the industry.
Interests: Classical music and backpacking through Southeast Asia.
Bradford Jones — SignalFire
Background: Jones, 28, leads SignalFire’s NYC office, focusing on AI and SaaS.
Athletic Past: Played D-1 football at the University of Michigan.
Will McKelvey — Lerer Hippeau
Background: Launched a student VC fund at UC Berkeley before joining Lerer Hippeau.
Industry Critique: Calls for less ego and more humility in venture capital.
Mason Murray — NEA
Background: Murray, 28, invests in B2B and B2C software with a bullish outlook on NYC’s AI scene.
Multitalented: Musician, amateur chef, and “hobby collector.”
Zehra Naqvi — Headline Ventures
Background: Naqvi, 25, runs the popular VC newsletter No GPs Allowed.
Contrarian Take: Doubling down on consumer tech despite market downturns.
David Ongchoco — Comma Capital
Background: Co-founded Comma Capital, backing 50+ startups (some acquired by Stripe and Airtable).
Forbes 30 Under 30: Recognized for his pre-seed investment strategy.
Will Robbins — Contrary
Background: Robbins, 27, focuses on ML startups and supports underrepresented founders.
Portfolio Includes: Unicorn Zepto and Alloy Automation.
Michael Shephard — Insight Partners
Background: Rose from intern to principal at Insight, specializing in SaaS.
Entrepreneurial Side: Founded browser homepage startup Lagom.io.
Alexandra Sukin — Bessemer Venture Partners
Background: Sukin, 27, invested in fintech Truebill (acquired by Rocket) and enterprise software.
Outdoor Enthusiast: Loves hiking and skiing in Montana and Colorado.
Mark Xu — Lightspeed Venture Partners
Background: At 24, Xu became one of Lightspeed’s youngest partners ever.
Unusual Path: Juilliard-trained violinist turned Harvard math major.
Claire Zau — GSV Ventures
Background: Zau, 27, leads AI investments at GSV and runs a 6K-subscriber AI newsletter.
Forbes 30 Under 30: Backed Pace AI and Magic School.
Vincent Zhu — General Catalyst
Background: Zhu, 25, connects founders with opportunities across NYC’s VC ecosystem.
Portfolio Exposure: Works with General Catalyst’s investments in Stripe, Canva, and Warby Parker.
This list highlights the dynamic talent shaping New York’s venture capital future. As these investors grow their influence, they’re proving that age is no barrier to making an impact in tech investing.
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