At a moment when technological progress is accelerating—while public trust and shared prosperity are lagging—there’s a growing need for venture capital to back foundational technologies that make everyday Americans’ lives visibly safer and more prosperous.
Recent survey findings from Gallup and Telescope reveal that Americans use AI, for example, nearly every day and don’t know it; that we are afraid of how AI will affect our jobs, our privacy, and our security; that we want our institutions to do something about it—no matter our age, gender, income, geography, or political party; that we anticipate taking personal responsibility for the way we use AI and that we expect business to do the same. We need a tangible, visible response.
We’re thrilled to welcome John Lyman—former Google Ventures partner and seasoned investor—as a Managing Director to lead our early stage investing. With him, we’re building a venture strategy focused on one powerful idea: that emerging technology, including AI, can—and must—deliver tangible benefits for everyday people.
Telescope was founded to ensure that the tools reshaping our world—from automation to AI—are used to strengthen society, not fragment it. Our venture investing arm is a natural extension of this mission.
We are focused on earlystage companies at the frontier of emerging technology—those leveraging AI, robotics, quantum computing, and more, to address real-world challenges. These aren’t science projects or speculation. They’re high-growth, high-impact businesses solving problems that matter to millions.
The opportunity is massive. Platform shifts like generative AI are still in their early innings. There are multiple platform shifts happening at once. The companies that define the next decade are being built right now.
John brings a rare combination of deep venture experience, operational expertise, and values-aligned leadership. At GV, he led investments in breakout companies including StockX, Toast, Podium, Tend, Andela, and Flock Freight—all businesses with strong fundamentals and thoughtful approaches to growth.
Before GV, John helped build Google’s global startup partnerships and philanthropic initiatives, and earlier in his career, worked in policy at the Clinton Global Initiative and the Center for American Progress. That blend of tech, investing, and public impact is precisely what Telescope was built to support.
Now, with John leading our early-stage investing practice, we are combining institutional-quality venture execution with a differentiated thesis rooted in long-term societal value.
Telescope’s initial portfolio includes companies that reflect our commitment to scalable innovation that meets real needs:
Each of these companies is tackling an essential system—healthcare, finance, logistics, entrepreneurship—and reimagining it from the ground up using breakthrough technology. We believe these are precisely the kinds of businesses that will outperform in the coming decade: not just technologically sophisticated, but socially relevant.
In a market flooded with capital chasing speculative bets, Telescope offers something different: focused, thesis-driven investing led by seasoned operators and proven investors. We’re building a platform for LPs who want more than exposure to emerging tech—they want to back the builders shaping a future worth living in.
“We’re not chasing the noise,” John says. “We’re backing serious founders using transformative tools to solve foundational problems—profitably and at scale.”
