Fundraising Fox
Higher Ground Labs
Venture capitalActively deployingChicago · Pre-Seed–Late Stage · 54 people tracked
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Investment thesis
Higher Ground Labs backs technology companies that advance political progress for Democrats and progressives, with a mission focused on strengthening democracy and improving electoral outcomes. It invests across stages from pre-seed to exit and functions as both an investor and ecosystem builder, supporting a portfolio of political and campaign technology tools. Since 2017 it has invested in more than 80 startups across five funds, deploying over $50 million. Its companies span areas such as message testing, voter mobilization, donor advising, and influencer engagement, and it also produces research like the Political Tech Landscape Report to inform the progressive tech ecosystem.
Source: firm website, verified Aug 3, 2026.
Team · 54 people
from the firm's website & public directories
Founder mafia
3 people who came through Higher Ground Labs went on to found or lead other companies.
What they invest in
from 18 of 87 portfolio companiesSaaS ×11AI & Machine Learning ×8GovTech ×7Marketing Tech ×5Enterprise Software ×4Impact & Social Good ×4Creator Economy ×3LegalTech ×3
HQs:United States×14
Who they back
founder profiles across 13 portfolio companiesFounding team size:solo founder×42 founders×63 founders×24+ founders×1
Where their founders studiedfrom 11 founders with education data
University of Chicago ×2
Accelerator rootsportfolio companies that came through a program
Investments · 87 tracked
founders shown can be your intro pathBy year:2026 · 12025 · 12024 · 32023 · 12022 · 32019 · 12017 · 111 dated
BallotReady provides nonpartisan data on ballots, elections, and elected officials, along with tools for voter registration, polling place lookup, contacting officials, and running for office.
ConsumerData & InfrastructureGovTechImpact & Social GoodSaaSChicago, US
Aviva Rosman(Founder)Alex Niemczewski(Founder)in
Board seatBetsy Hoover· per SEC Form D
Co-investors37 AngelsFlow CapitalInvestHER VenturesM25Wakestream Ventures
Lexington, US
Nicholas Angelo Mele(CEO)
BoardMichael Frias(Board of Directors)inJason Rosenbaum(Board of Directors)Nathaniel Pearlman(Board of Directors)Josh Wolf(Board of Directors)
Board seatBetsy Hoover· per SEC Form D
BattlegroundAI is an AI platform that generates compliant video, display, and text ads with built-in disclaimers, governance controls, and regulatory safeguards.
AdTechAI & Machine LearningGovTech
Maya Hutchinson(Founder & CEO)Henry Cyranka(Co-Founder — AI & Data Science)
Plural is an AI-powered platform that helps enterprises and organizations analyze legislation and anticipate policy impacts through bill summarization, topic detection, advanced search, and tracking across state and federal jurisdictions.
AI & Machine LearningGovTechLegalTechMounds View, US
Damola Ogundipe(Founder)in
Co-investorsBackstage CapitalDebut CapitalTechstarsM25Menlo VenturesS3 Ventures
Civitech builds technology infrastructure for political candidates, social causes, and local governments to increase voter registration and engagement.
Enterprise SoftwareGovTechSaaSSan Antonio, US
Jeremy Smith(CEO and Co-founder)inDan Graham(Director)Stephanie Fisher(Executive Officer)inErin Fahy(Chief Technology Officer of Issuer)inSarah Jackel(Executive Officer)
BoardTamer Mokhtar(Director)
Co-investorsAIN VenturesBuilders + BackersGaingelsMana VenturesMercury FundScout Ventures+1 more
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Clipbook is an AI-powered media intelligence platform that monitors, aggregates, and analyzes content from over 1 million sources across news, TV, radio, social media, podcasts, and policy.
AI & Machine LearningMarketing TechSaaS
Adam Joseph(Founder)in
Co-investorsCommonweal VenturesCarpenter Capital
DonorAtlas is an AI-powered prospect research and wealth screening platform for nonprofit fundraising teams, generating cited donor profiles that detail a prospect's wealth, giving history, interests, and relationships.
AI & Machine LearningImpact & Social GoodSaaSNew York, US
Co-investorsAudaciousSoma Capital
Endaoment provides blockchain-based philanthropic services that enable donors and nonprofits to manage charitable giving with lower fees and greater transparency through smart contracts.
Crypto & Web3FintechImpact & Social GoodNew York, US
Robbie Heeger(President & CEO)inCarter Wilkinson(Treasurer & Secretary)in
Co-investorsChapter OneCircle VenturesCoinbase VenturesJDS SportsShine CapitalAdam Nash+4 more
Message testing platform that ran 457 tests on 1,700+ ads for the presidential campaign in 2024.
Hovercast is a live streaming engagement platform that lets creators and event organizers interact with audiences across multiple platforms simultaneously, featuring chats and donations on screen and adding gamification points and badges.
Creator EconomyMedia & EntertainmentSaaSChicago, US
Eli Stonberg(Executive Officer, Director)Jeff Greco(Executive Officer, Director)
Hustle is a mobile communication platform for text, calls, and video messaging that lets organizations broadcast bulk messages, automate responses, and hold 1:1 conversations.
Enterprise SoftwareMarketing TechMedia & EntertainmentSaaSSan Francisco, US
Robert T. Lindsay(Executive Officer, Director)
BoardPerry Rosenstein(Director)Chamath Palihapitiya(Director)in
Co-investorsDesigner FundGSV VenturesKapor CapitalIndex VenturesMatrixSocial Capital Partnership
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JusticeText builds technology solutions for the criminal justice system, serving public defenders and marginalized communities to improve legal representation access regardless of income.
AI & Machine LearningGovTechLegalTechMedia & EntertainmentIrvine, US
Devshi Mehrotra(Founder)inLeslie Jones-Dove(Founder)in
Co-investors500 GlobalBloomberg BetaParameter VenturesStand Together Ventures LabTechstarsTrue Ventures+1 more
Political donor advising platform that directed over $37 million and 300,000 donations to 750+ candidates in 2024.
Brian Derrick(Founder)in
Co-investorsBlack Opal VenturesGaingelsMcKesson VenturesRackhouse Venture Capital
Paladin develops autonomous drones and operational software for emergency response and public safety.
Advanced ManufacturingDefense TechGovTechHardwareRoboticsSaaSHouston, US
Divyaditya Shrivastava(Founder)inDivy Shrivastava(CEO & Founder)Felicity Conrad(Founder)Kristen Sonday(Founder)Trevor Pennypacker(CTO)Thomas Ferrer(HR Consultant)
Co-investorsAngel Collective Opportunity FundCathexis VenturesExpansion Venture CapitalGradient VenturesY CombinatorC2 Ventures+9 more
Paladin operates a pro bono infrastructure platform that connects low-income individuals with volunteer attorneys and helps legal services organizations, law firms, and in-house legal teams manage volunteer programs.
Enterprise SoftwareLegalTechSaaSNew York City, US
Co-investorsAmerican Family Insurance Institute for Corporate and Social ImpactBackstage CapitalChaac VenturesCleveland AvenueGaingelsHyde Park Venture Partners+7 more
Plural is an AI-powered policy intelligence platform that helps enterprises and organizations track, summarize, and analyze state and federal legislation.
AI & Machine LearningGovTechSaaS
Damola Ogundipe(CEO & Co-Founder)in
Co-investorsAlumni VenturesBread And Butter Ventures, LlcConsonance Investment ManagersFf Venture CapitalPurpose Built VenturesTech Square Ventures+6 more
Social Currant connects nonprofits and impact organizations with a vetted network of social media creators on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube to run cause-driven campaigns.
Creator EconomyImpact & Social GoodMarketing Tech
Ellie Artone(Cofounder)Vidyut Ghuwalewala(Cofounder)Ashwath Narayanan(Cofounder)
Sparxell designs, engineers, and manufactures plant-based colorants using cellulose, including biomimetic pigments, biodegradable glitter, powders, pearls, foils, and specialty shapes such as sequins.
BiotechCircular EconomyCleantechNew Materials
Benjamin Droguet(Founder)inSilvia Vignolini(Founder)
Co-investorsCircular Innovation FundEarth Venture CapitalGranatus VenturesJoyance PartnersTriple VenturesBlue Ocean Capital Group+2 more
Swayable provides a cloud-based platform that measures and optimizes the effectiveness of media content in changing public opinion.
AdTechAI & Machine LearningEnterprise SoftwareMarketing TechSector AgnosticNew York City, US
James Slezak(CEO)inLyel Resner(Founder)Valerie Coffman(Founder)Tanner WelshErica McAfee(Director of Operations and Finance)Al Torres(Vice President of Revenue and Partnerships)
Co-investorsRecurring Capital PartnersY CombinatorA-Level CapitalLowercase CapitalNew Media Ventures
Wethos is an all-in-one software platform that helps freelancers and small creative studios manage their businesses through tools for pricing, proposal creation, invoicing, and payments.
Creator EconomyFuture of WorkSaaS
Summer Lambert(Founder)Rachel Renock(Founder)in
Co-investors27V (Twenty Seven Ventures)Backbone AngelsClocktower VenturesDeepwater Asset ManagementFlybridge Capital PartnersGaingels+14 more
Other
Tracked investments with no reachable website or further public details — typically companies that wound down, renamed, or were absorbed.
Avalanche InsightsBarazaBluelinkCalltimeChorusCommunityConnectBlueContextCountableCreative ChangeDeckDMC small blueEqualEstratosEvenscoreFactsquaredFathomGreenflyGroundbaseHaystackHopeImpactiveIntrvlKiipLocunitylogo-avalanchelogo-bgenerouslogo-changeresearchlogo-fielddaylogo-gatherroundlogo-goodstocklogo-human-agencylogo-measure-studiologo-mobilize-newlogo-new-modelogo-outreachlogo-people-firstlogo-survey-160logo-tuesdaylogo-waysidelogoblueMobilizeMomentumMovementOpenfieldOpengrantsPeoplehoodPluralQriouslyRevereRivalmind AiSoShaSpeakEasy PoliticalTorchUnifiedUnitaryUnpackingUntitled designUntitled design (10)Untitled design (11)Untitled design (4)Untitled design (7)Untitled design (9)VocalVotusWinnable
Exits · 5
5 acquisitions · showing 2Impactiveacq. by ActBlueMobilizeacq. by Everyaction
Portfolio news
latest coverage across their companiesGrow Progress · growprogress.ai · Jul 31, 2026
Frequently asked questions
- How many investments has Higher Ground Labs made?
- Higher Ground Labs has 87 tracked investments, 5 of which have exited, including 2 dated in the last 24 months.
- What stage does Higher Ground Labs invest at?
- Higher Ground Labs invests at the Pre-Seed, Seed, Series A, Series B, Series C, Growth, Late Stage stages.
- What is Higher Ground Labs's typical check size?
- Higher Ground Labs typically writes checks of $100K.
- What sectors does Higher Ground Labs focus on?
- Higher Ground Labs focuses on AI & Machine Learning, GovTech, Impact & Social Good.
- Where is Higher Ground Labs located?
- Higher Ground Labs is headquartered in Chicago, US.
- Does Higher Ground Labs lead rounds?
- Higher Ground Labs typically participates in rounds rather than leading them.
- Who does Higher Ground Labs co-invest with?
- Higher Ground Labs most often shares deals with Mana Ventures, Y Combinator, Flybridge Capital Partners, among 43 tracked co-investors.
Media · Podcasts & interviews
featuring the teamWatch: Betsy Hoover shares Insights on the Role of A.I. in the 2024 Election - Higher Ground Labs
Betsy Hoover · highergroundlabs.com
Betsy Hoover, Higher Ground Labs | #fortheWIN2018 NewFounders Conference
NewFounders · Betsy Hoover
Higher Ground Labs' Shomik Dutta: "Nothing clarifies the mind like losing” | Danny In The Valley on Acast
Shomik Dutta · play.acast.com
Images
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