On June 9, 2025, Project Liberty Institute and Omidyar Network, in partnership with RFK Human Rights, convened a select group of senior representatives from institutional limited partners at the 2025 RFK Compass Summer Investors Conference in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, for a high-level Summit focused on the future of responsible data and AI investment in private markets.
The participants in the meeting and preparatory process represent over $4.4 trillion in assets under management and advisement. They are primarily from North America and span pension funds, endowments, sovereign wealth funds, fund of funds, insurers, and other institutional investors who collectively shape the flow of capital into technology markets. Limited Partners (LPs) are the entities that provide the capital to venture capital and private equity firms, which in turn invest directly in startups and other private companies.
A milestone moment
The convening marked a significant milestone in advancing the implementation of the Project Liberty Fair Data Economy Task Force recommendations and the Project Liberty Institute x VentureESG transatlantic LP initiative on Data and AI, which has already engaged over 50 institutional investors across Europe and North America. It followed three preparatory virtual LP roundtables, featuring contributors such as 2024 Nobel Economics Prize laureate and Project Liberty Fair Data Economy Task Force Member Daron Acemoglu, to explore questions about what constitutes a good data economy, responsible AI, and the role of private market investors.
This summit showcased that LPs are increasingly ready to engage not only as financiers but as strategic actors in creating a more dynamic and trustworthy digital economy where people have meaningful agency.
Sheila Warren, CEO of Project Liberty Institute
“At Project Liberty Institute, we believe a healthy data economy must offer voice, choice, and stake for investors, builders, and participants alike,” said Sheila Warren, CEO of Project Liberty Institute. “As our Blueprint for Innovation and Growth of the Fair Data Economy Task Force made clear, private capital plays a foundational role in shaping technology markets and their infrastructures. This summit showcased that LPs are increasingly ready to engage not only as financiers, but as strategic actors in creating a more dynamic and trustworthy digital economy where people have meaningful agency.”
On the agenda
Over the course of the day, LPs examined the investment risks and opportunities created by rapidly evolving AI and data technologies. Discussions focused on emerging LP practices, portfolio governance frameworks, and new tools for influencing GPs and portfolio companies. These sessions reflected insights from the first global survey of LPs on responsible data and AI investment and the landmark White Paper on Responsible Investment in Data and AI, launched by Project Liberty Institute and VentureESG earlier this year at the AI Action Summit’s Business Day.
“LPs are increasingly focused on how data and AI shape long-term value creation and systemic risk, and how to embed that understanding into the investment process,” said Paul Fehlinger, Director of Policy, Innovation & Impact at Project Liberty Institute, who leads its engagement with LPs and VCs.
Paul Fehlinger, Director, Project Liberty Institute, and Mike Kubzansky, CEO, Omidyar Network, at the Limited Partner Summit
“This summit is an important step in taking the learnings from our PLIxVESG LP White Paper and equipping asset owners with the tools and strategies to engage GPs more effectively, allocate capital with clearer expectations, and help shape an investable market environment where responsible innovation scales competitively to yield better long-term returns for all involved parties.”
The summit’s agenda featured targeted discussions and hands-on engagement. It focused on frameworks for evaluating responsible data and AI practices while developing concrete strategies for LP action. Breakout sessions ensured insights were translated into actionable next steps for each represented organization.
A major step forward
“The question is no longer whether data and AI affect investment performance and systemic risk—it’s how investors can practically govern those impacts across portfolios,” said Mike Kubzansky, CEO of Omidyar Network. “From due diligence to GP engagement, LPs have a crucial opportunity to ensure the next wave of technological innovation drives responsible deployment, manages risk, and promotes resilient markets and long-term value creation for shareholders and the rest of society.”
Kerry Kennedy, President of RFK Human Rights, posed the question, “What would it look like if innovation did not come at the expense of human rights, dignity, equity, and accountability? Can you imagine that?” She added, “We’re thrilled to partner with investors who ask these critical questions and believe, like we do, that for AI to work, it must work for all.”
The summit underscored that institutional investors are not merely observers of digital transformation; they are architects of its direction. By equipping LPs with practical frameworks and creating space for shared learning, this initiative is helping to build the foundations of a more responsible, resilient, and opportunity-rich data and AI economy.
This summit represents a major step forward as a key milestone for the Fair Data Economy Task Force Blueprint for Innovation and Growth and the ongoing PLIxVentureESG process. Project Liberty Institute will continue to work alongside LPs, GPs, and entrepreneurs, and together with its strong partners, to lay the economic and governance groundwork for better data and AI markets and infrastructures, driving innovative business models for a better web and a better future.