GV (Google Ventures)

Insurance is one of the oldest and most conservative industries in the world, and one of the most distrusted. Daniel Schreiber believed it didn’t have to be this way. A serial entrepreneur with roots across Tel Aviv, London, and New York, Daniel had already helped build global tech companies before turning his attention to insurance. He wasn’t looking for a small tweak to the system. He was drawn to a category that touches nearly everyone, and hadn’t meaningfully changed in decades. As Co-founder and CEO of Lemonade, Daniel set out to modernize a centuries-old industry using AI-driven underwriting and automation to create a faster, more transparent experience for customers. Daniel views Lemonade as an opportunity to design an insurance model that closely aligns with the people it serves, prioritizing transparency and giving back wherever possible. As part of our European and Israeli founder profile series, we’re sharing stories from leaders shaping the future across the region. Read Daniel’s story and explore more founder conversations on our blog.

In the latest Culture & Code column, GV Partner KJ Sidberry and GV Advisor David Benjamin explore how AI interfaces are finally starting to shift from static chat to more dynamic, human-centered experiences. A few examples we’ve taken note of: Heywa Labs turns prompts into visual stories, pointing toward more expressive AI interactions murmur by Vadim Drobinin helps people practice difficult conversations, showing how voice can support real-life moments Fort (YC W26) brings AI into the weight room, tracking strength training through motion sensors Lemonpod transforms your day into a narrated, personal podcast What other consumer apps are doing a good job of taking it out of the text box? Read the full column for more on where AI is heading.

When Founder & CEO Guy Podjarny started Tessl, it wasn’t his first time building developer tools, or starting a company (he previously founded Synk, another GV portfolio company). After years of working in developer-first security and tools, he saw the ground shifting as more and more code was being created with AI. He thought: what if we rebuilt software creation from the bottom up for an AI-native world? That question led to the creation of Tessl, a platform designed to help developers move from idea to production with more structure, clarity, and collaboration built in from the start. The team is rethinking how software should be designed and maintained in the first place. Today, GV portfolio company Tessl reflects a broader wave of European and Israeli founded companies shaping the global AI landscape with deep technical roots and long-term ambition. Read more from our conversation with Guy on building globally from Europe and Israel, why AI demands a new software foundation, and what it takes to start again in a familiar space.

We’re one week away from our AI Demo Night with StackOne and Google DeepMind. The evening is centered on the work itself: teams sharing what they’re building and the ideas shaping SF’s AI community. If you’re an engineer, founder or researcher, come join us! RSVP at the link below.

Behind every healthcare report is hours of manual work. GV portfolio company Layer Health is changing that. Their first case study shows hospital abstractors cutting report-building time by over 50% using AI, freeing up time for higher-value work and better patient outcomes. Proud to partner with a team bringing more speed and clarity to healthcare.

The companies that stand out most usually have a few things in common: a clear sense of what they’re building, strong teams, and a willingness to do things differently. Fast Company’s World’s Most Innovative Companies of 2026 highlights companies who are pushing their industries forward, and we’re excited to see several GV portfolio companies highlighted. Breakthrough launch: Altana AI and Element Science, Inc. Product reimagination: Harvey, Zipline, Plaid, Checkr, Inc. and Ramp Transformative tech: myLaurel®, Beacon Biosignals, Daydream and OpenEvidence Operational excellence: Snorkel AI, Warp and Waymo Customer experience: Desmos Studios Social impact: Sardine Grateful to partner with these teams as they build what’s next. 💡

The bar for candidate experience is rising across roles, but GV Executive Talent Partner, Rhys Hughes, says long-term retention still comes down to something simpler: building a culture people want to stay for. Read the full piece in the The Wall Street Journal.

When Co-founder & CEO Victor Riparbelli started Synthesia in London, the vision was to serve the film and advertising industries. But by closely monitoring early usage and interest, the team realized the real momentum was coming from large enterprises. The shift from “more Pixar��� to “more PowerPoint” changed everything. Enterprises use Synthesia’s AI-generated video and avatars to create content for training and skill development in a fraction of the time and cost of traditional production. These individualized formats also give employees a safe place to practice and learn on their own without the pressure of making mistakes in front of a customer or manager. Today, GV portfolio company Synthesia works with 90% of the Fortune 100 and more than 60,000 customers worldwide. Read more from our conversation with Victor on building a global AI company from Europe, why the team’s internal principle, “utility over novelty”, always wins, and where he predicts Synthesia will be in five years as part of our European and Israeli founder spotlight series.

On Wednesday night, GV General Partner Michael McBride moderated a conversation with technical leaders from four GV portfolio companies. The discussion centered on a fundamental change in building: we are moving away from simple Q&A and toward complex, autonomous workflows in high-stakes fields like medicine, law, and enterprise infrastructure. Key Messages from the Panel: 🔁 From Tools to Systems: Kush Khosla of OpenEvidence, and Niko Grupen of Harvey, discussed moving away from rigid, rule-based AI toward systems that leverage reasoning models. The focus is no longer just on "not hallucinating," but on building human-in-the-loop verification that mirrors human professional hierarchies. 🧑💻 The Power of Guardrails: James Everingham, founder of Guild.ai, debunked the myth that governance slows you down. By separating policy from execution, developers can experiment faster and more safely, moving from "testing" to "debugging a distributed system." 🤝 AI as Connective Tissue: Andi Peng, one of the founders of humans&, shared a vision of AI that solves "leaked context,” or the friction that happens when information fails to move between team members. She shared how Humans& is building foundational models to facilitate deeper human cooperation. 🧠 The Generalist Superpower: Everyone agreed that as AI handles specialized coding and research, the most valuable human trait is becoming clarity of thought and vision. Each company is seeing a "collapse of roles" where engineers can design products, lawyers contribute directly to codebases, and the specific role you were trained to do previously is just a small slice of what you’re able to accomplish today. If this resonates, they are all hiring! See available listings here: https://jobs.gv.com/jobs Thanks Yasin Ehsan 🚀 and Powell St for bringing together an incredible audience of builders!

Ros Deegan, CEO of OMass Therapeutics, is part of a growing wave of women leading biotech companies and redefining what leadership in the sector looks like. Her path wasn’t linear. After realizing early on that hands-on medicine wasn’t the best fit, she pursued molecular biology at University of Cambridge and built her career across the U.S. and UK before stepping into the OMass CEO role in Oxford. Today, she leads the team in developing treatments for patients with limited options. That perspective, paired with a broader rise in women leaders across biotech, is helping expand representation, attract new talent, and strengthen how companies operate across the board. As part of our European and Israeli startup spotlight series, we spoke with Ros about her journey, her team’s work, and why this leadership shift matters for the entire industry's future.