About Lionheart Ventures

• Founded: 2019

• Headquarters: San Francisco, California

• Strategy: Early-stage venture capital, AI, mental health technology, and impact investing

• Track record: Fund I closed at $12m in 2020

• Leadership: Founded by Adina Tecklu and Anarghya Vardhana

Lionheart Ventures has raised $10m toward its second fund, with the final target size undisclosed. The firm maintains its focus on early-stage companies across AI, mental health technology, and impact-related sectors. The raise marks a continuation of the firm's strategy from its debut fund, which closed at $12m in 2020.

The undisclosed target raises questions about deployment timeline and LP appetite for the strategy mix. Mental health tech saw outsized investor attention in 2020–2021, but the sector has since contracted — venture funding for digital health dropped 63% from peak in 2021 to 2023, according to Rock Health. If Fund II is sized comparably to its predecessor, the $10m first close suggests either a measured LP response or an extended fundraising period. If the target is materially larger, the firm will need to demonstrate that AI exposure can offset headwinds in mental health tech, where exit multiples have compressed and several high-profile companies have shut down or merged.

The timing also puts Lionheart in a cohort of sub-$50m funds navigating a bifurcated fundraising environment. Funds below $250m captured 28% of total venture commitments in 2023, up from 22% in 2021, per PitchBook — but that aggregate masks wide dispersion. Firms with established track records or institutional anchor LPs are closing at or above target; those without are extending timelines or resizing downward. Lionheart's 2020 vintage gives it one fund's worth of performance data, but not yet realized returns. Whether Fund II closes closer to its predecessor or scales significantly will signal how LPs are scoring early-stage impact strategies in a market that has deprioritized thematic bets.

Source: Venture Capital Journal