10 Women VCs Who Are Transforming AI Through Investment in USA

With the rise of women-led VC funds and a heightened focus on diversity, female investors are not only recognizing the potential for growth in the booming AI market but are also determined to reshape the industry.

A recent survey highlighted a stark reality: female-founded AI startups capture less than 3% of venture capital funding, often receiving six times less per deal compared to their male counterparts. This statistic underscores a significant challenge in the tech landscape, yet it also marks an opportunity for change.

In 2024, women venture capitalists are stepping up to address this imbalance, actively investing in AI startups that tackle pressing global issues. With the rise of women-led VC funds and a heightened focus on diversity, female investors are not only recognizing the potential for growth in the booming AI market but are also determined to reshape the industry. Here are 10 inspiring women VCs who are transforming the AI landscape across the USA.

Deena Shakir

Deena Shakir is known for investing in transformative technologies that improve lives and livelihoods, with a strong focus on AI. Her AI-related investments include companies like Anthropic, which focuses on AI safety and research, Hugging Face, an open-source AI platform, and Covariant, an AI robotics firm. Prior to her current role, Shakir worked at GV (Google Ventures) and Google.org, and she also lectures at Stanford’s Graduate School of Business. A notable example of her impact in the AI space is her early investment in Alife, an AI-driven fertility technology startup, which she backed initially in 2020 and again co-led a $22 million Series A round two years later.

Ann Miura-Ko

Ann Miura-Ko, a co-founding partner at Floodgate, is renowned for her strategic investments in highly technical companies, leveraging her background in mathematical modeling of information security. With a keen focus on e-commerce, security, and big data, her portfolio includes notable names like Lyft—where she still serves on the board—as well as Xamarin, a mobile app development platform enhanced with AI capabilities. A Yale graduate, Ann has been recognized on the Midas List for the past five years and named one of The New York Times’ Top 20 Venture Capitalists globally. After earning her PhD in cybersecurity risk modeling from Stanford, she co-founded Floodgate, one of Silicon Valley’s first seed-stage VC funds. Over the last 12 years, she has continued to invest in AI, with current investments including Applied Intuition, Mem.ai, Hebbia, and Blooma.

Sarah Guo

Sarah Guo, a prominent venture capitalist known for her deep technical expertise, previously served as a General Partner at Greylock Partners before founding Conviction Fund. She has made significant investments in AI-driven companies, including Anthropic, an AI safety and research firm, and Coda, an AI-powered document creation platform, where she collaborated with her partner Reid Hoffman. Guo and fellow investor Elad Gil have also backed Harvey and Mistral. With a focus on “Software 3.0,” Guo raised a $101 million fund to support AI-native companies, believing we are only beginning to transform powerful AI models into industry-changing products. Conviction typically invests between $1 to $10 million, often as the first investor, allowing them to work closely with founders and nurture innovative ideas from the ground up.

Aileen Lee 

Aileen Lee, founder of Cowboy Ventures, focuses on seed-stage companies that aim to “re-imagine” work and personal life, termed “Life 2.0.” With a keen interest in enterprise software, SaaS, and AI-driven solutions, she cites Textio and Vic.ai as early examples of this trend. Lee is credited with coining the term “unicorn” in a 2013 TechCrunch article, initially identifying just 39 billion-dollar startups, a term that has since become ubiquitous in tech. She also co-founded All Raise to promote diversity in the industry. Cowboy Ventures typically invests in about 12 companies per year, with funding ranging from $100,000 to $1 million, focusing on a sweet spot of $500,000 to $800,000.

Renata Quintini

Renata Quintini is a venture capitalist, futurist, and co-founder of Renegade Partners with over 15 years of experience backing transformative technologies. Known for her cautious yet visionary approach, she focuses on AI applications that enhance human capabilities, favoring vertical solutions over foundational models. Her recent $34M Series B investment in Airspace Intelligence, alongside Andreessen Horowitz and other top-tier investors, reflects her belief in AI’s potential to solve real-world challenges—in this case, the software crisis in aerospace. Prior to Renegade, Renata was a Partner at Lux Capital and Felicis Ventures, where she played a key role in high-profile exits like Dollar Shave Club and Cruise Automation. With her firm’s $128M Fund II, she continues to back companies with durable advantages and unique data assets, emphasizing the importance of differentiation in a competitive market.

Mar Hershenson 

Hershenson is a venture capitalist known for her technical background and commitment to supporting diverse founders, with a focus on early-stage investments, particularly in seed and pre-seed rounds. Her firm, Pear VC, has invested in over 75 companies, many of which are likely to incorporate AI technologies. Recent investments include Redcoat AI, which raised $4 million in March 2024 at the seed stage, and ProhostAI, which secured $1 million in August 2024 at the pre-seed stage.

Shruti Gandhi

Shruti Gandhi, founder and managing partner of Array Ventures, is a key player in AI investments with a strong background in computer science and machine learning. Her enterprise data AI fund focuses on pre-seed investments and has backed over 75 companies leveraging AI to solve major industry challenges. Gandhi’s strategy emphasizes the “New World of Work,” targeting deep tech that accelerates enterprise sales cycles. Her track record includes 15 successful exits from 75 investments in the past five years, with notable AI-related exits like Simility (acquired by PayPal for $120 million) and Zimperium (sold for $525 million). While specific AI investments are limited, the fund supports companies like MokSa.ai and Rad AI, which apply machine learning and generative AI in retail and healthcare. Array Ventures manages over $150 million in assets across three funds, attracting diverse limited partners, including institutional investors and prominent family offices.

Peggy Johnson 

Peggy Johnson, CEO of Magic Leap and former CEO of Agility Robotics, is a seasoned leader in AI and robotics, leveraging over 30 years of experience in the tech industry. With 24 years at Qualcomm and a pivotal role at Microsoft, she has honed her expertise in navigating complex technology landscapes. Notably recognized for her leadership in mergers and acquisitions, Johnson orchestrated Microsoft’s acquisition of LinkedIn for $26.2 billion, showcasing her strategic acumen. Her extensive background uniquely positions her to address enterprise needs and competitive challenges in the augmented reality field, making her a knowledgeable investor in the sector.

Stephanie Zhan

“AI has brought new life to the investing ecosystem in the last year,” says Stephanie Zhan, a partner at Sequoia Capital focused on seed and early-stage investments. With a background in computer science from Stanford, where she was advised by AI pioneer Andrew Ng, Zhan has witnessed the evolution of AI firsthand. Since joining Sequoia in July 2015, she has sourced six key investments, including Graphcore, a company developing AI processors; Quidd, a digital goods marketplace; Tribe, a mobile live video gaming platform; and Against Gravity, the creator of the virtual reality platform RecRoom. A member of the Stanford Engineering Honor Society, Zhan enjoys experimenting with Snap’s latest AR filters in her spare time.

Anna Barber

Anna Barber, a partner at M13, has led investments in over 100 companies, with a strong focus on supporting female CEOs. Barber is particularly interested in AI solutions for small and medium-sized businesses, tackling complex data problems like inventory planning and customer success, and AI infrastructure related to compliance and data integrity. She also sees AI agents as the next frontier. Barber believes AI is a transformative force, expecting founders to incorporate it into their business models, saying, “In 2024, if you don’t have AI in your pitch deck, I want to know why.”

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Picture of Anshika Mathews
Anshika Mathews
Anshika is the Senior Content Strategist for AIM Research. She holds a keen interest in technology and related policy-making and its impact on society. She can be reached at anshika.mathews@aimresearch.co
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