New Initiative to Advance Responsible Data and AI Investment in Venture Capital Launches at SuperVenture 2025 in Berlin
Project Liberty Institute announced a strategic partnership with VentureESG, a leading network of over 550 venture capital firms and 100+ limited partners committed to integrating environmental, social, and governance factors into investment, and ImpactVC, the world’s largest community of over 700 VCs investing for both financial returns and positive societal outcomes.
Launched at SuperVenture 2025, the leading global gathering of VCs and LPs, this collaboration comes when the industry is under increasing pressure to define responsible investment in the data and AI space. The initiative aims to help establish shared frameworks that guide responsible governance practices before regulation and market shifts make them imperative. The first step: a sector-wide survey to benchmark current approaches and identify actionable pathways toward more accountable, resilient, and forward-looking investment models.
“We’re seeing the early signs of a shift in venture,” said Paul Fehlinger, Director of Policy, Governance Innovation & Impact at Project Liberty Institute, who leads engagement with investors. “Most VCs are just starting to grapple with responsible data and AI governance, but some forward-looking LPs are already asking tougher questions. As the sector races ahead, this is a rare window to jointly develop the standards before regulation and market dynamics force everyone’s hand. Investors who move early won’t just mitigate risk—they’ll be better positioned to win over institutional capital and attract founders who see responsible AI as a competitive edge. Ultimately, it’s how we build more resilient companies and ensure the next wave of tech creates real value for users, entrepreneurs, and investors alike.”
Integrating Risk Management with Positive Impact
The initiative takes a pioneering interdisciplinary approach by combining traditional risk and governance frameworks with impact-focused investment strategies tailored specifically for the data and AI sector.
“What sets this initiative apart is its integration of responsible investment principles with impact-driven strategies uniquely designed for data and AI technologies,” explains Johannes Lenhard, Co-founder and CEO of VentureESG. He is co-leading the project with Oliver Nixon (Research Lead), Elad Vromen (Research Fellow), and VentureESG’s chair, Hannah Leach. “By bringing these complementary perspectives together, we’re developing comprehensive frameworks that address both risk mitigation and positive impact — a first for the VC ecosystem in data and AI investments.”
Douglas Sloan, co-founder of ImpactVC, highlights the business case behind responsible tech investing: “Impact investors have long recognized that technologies solving real human challenges can drive commercial value in parallel with positive societal outcomes. The breakthrough companies of tomorrow will build AI and data systems that enhance transparency, protect privacy, and create sustainable value for markets and society. This isn’t just about doing good — it’s about identifying future multi-billion dollar businesses that succeed by designing technologies users trust and regulators embrace rather than restrict.”
Advancing a Better Data Economy
For Project Liberty Institute, this initiative represents a core implementation of its mission to build a better data economy and next-generation digital infrastructure.
By engaging investors early in the innovation cycle, we can foster business models that prioritize responsible data practices and human-centered AI. This initiative isn’t simply about risk mitigation. It’s about actively building the digital infrastructure that will define our collective future.
Sheila Warren, CEO of Project Liberty Institute
“Venture capital plays a pivotal role in shaping our future digital ecosystem,” said Sheila Warren, CEO of Project Liberty Institute. “By engaging investors early in the innovation cycle, we can foster business models that prioritize responsible data practices and human-centered AI. This initiative isn’t simply about risk mitigation. It’s about actively building the digital infrastructure that will define our collective future.”
Building on Project Liberty Institute’s Foundation of Multistakeholder Work
This initiative builds directly upon two significant Project Liberty Institute efforts that identified venture capital as a critical leverage point for responsible technology development:
- The multistakeholder recommendations on responsible technology innovation, developed jointly with Aspen Digital and released at Collision WebSummit Canada in June 2024, engaged over 200 key stakeholders across North America, South America, Europe, Asia, and Africa. A core recommendation explicitly called for creating “frameworks for responsible investment in digital and data-driven technologies.”
- The 2024 Project Liberty Fair Data Economy Task Force—which included distinguished members from ten countries spanning business, international organizations, governments, technology, investment, and academia, including 2024 Nobel Economics Laureate Daron Acemoglu—specifically recommended fostering a community of investors committed to building a better AI and data economy as part of their impact thesis in its “Blueprint for Innovation and Growth.”
From Insights to Action
Jeb Bell, Head of Strategic Insights at Project Liberty Institute, highlighted the collaborative approach driving this work: “What makes this initiative powerful is our ability to translate complex stakeholder perspectives into actionable frameworks alongside our distinguished partners at VentureESG and ImpactVC. Together, we’re identifying best practices, pain points, and innovation opportunities across the venture ecosystem. The data gathered through our collaborative insights will directly inform next-generation investment frameworks that balance financial returns with responsible data and AI.”