AI Citation Intelligence
Lerer Hippeau
Lerer Hippeau
Competitive Visibility Analysis
How Lerer Hippeau appears when founders query AI platforms about venture capital and early-stage investment
Executive Summary
Lerer Hippeau appears in 3.9% of AI responses (9/230 tests) when users search without naming the firm specifically—ranking #29 among VC firms tracked. This study used sector-agnostic queries to test baseline discovery without geographic or sector bias toward LH's known strengths. Gemini shows highest visibility (10.9%), while General VC Landscape queries (0%) represent the largest gap. Brand accuracy is perfect (100%) confirming AI platforms have accurate LH information when queried directly.
Brand Accuracy
100%
40 of 40 branded tests
When users explicitly search for Lerer Hippeau by name, all 5 AI platforms consistently provide relevant, accurate information. This metric validates data quality—branded queries should approach 100%.
Organic Discovery
3.9%
9 of 230 unbranded tests
When users search without naming LH specifically, the firm appears organically in about 1 of 25 responses. This reflects the sector-agnostic query design—queries deliberately avoided NYC, consumer, and DTC focus areas where LH typically performs strongest.
Competitive Position
#29
in unbranded queries
Among VC firms mentioned in 230 unbranded tests, Lerer Hippeau ranks #29 by total mention count. Accel leads (#1 with 188), followed by Andreessen Horowitz (#2 with 157) and Sequoia (#3 with 152). This ranking reflects the study's sector-agnostic design—mega-VCs with broad mandates naturally dominate general queries.
Category Performance
Visibility by Query Category
How Lerer Hippeau performs across different founder query intents. Click any card for detailed analysis. All metrics show unbranded queries only.
01 — Stage Focus
Stage & Check Size
7.5%
"Best VCs for pre-seed funding"
Best performing unbranded category. LH appears in 7.5% of stage-specific queries like "seed rounds under $5 million" and "Series A lead investors." Gemini accounts for most mentions. This aligns with LH's early-stage positioning, though mega-VCs still dominate these queries.
02 — Research
Discovery & Research
5.7%
"How to find the right VC for my startup"
Discovery-oriented queries show some visibility. When founders ask about researching VCs or finding databases, LH occasionally appears. ChatGPT and Gemini both mentioned LH in "how to research venture capital firms" queries.
03 — Founder UX
Founder Experience
5.0%
"VCs that respond to cold pitches"
Founder-experience queries show modest visibility. LH appears in some queries about VCs with founder-friendly reputations. Claude mentioned LH for "VCs that respond to cold pitches" and Gemini included LH for "best VCs for repeat founders."
04 — Sector
Sector Agnostic
3.6%
"Best VCs for B2B SaaS startups"
Expected lower visibility in non-core sectors. Sector-specific queries like "best VCs for B2B SaaS" or "fintech startups" favor sector specialists (Bessemer, Ribbit). LH's consumer/DTC focus wasn't tested in this category. Notably, LH did appear for "best investors for consumer apps" on Claude and Perplexity.
05 — General
General VC Landscape
0.0%
"Best venture capital firms for startups"
Broad queries favor mega-VCs exclusively. Generic "best VC" and "top firms" queries are dominated by brand-name VCs (a16z, Sequoia, Accel). This is an expected structural gap—boutique firms compete on differentiation, not mass awareness. These queries represent where mega-VCs have unavoidable advantages.
06 — Quality Check
Branded Queries
100%
"What is Lerer Hippeau known for?"
Perfect brand accuracy across all platforms. When users query LH by name, all 5 AI platforms provide accurate, comprehensive information. This confirms that LH's brand information is well-indexed—the challenge is organic discovery, not brand awareness.
PR Intelligence
Media & Database Co-Occurrence Analysis
When AI platforms cite these sources, how often does LH appear in the same response? Higher share = stronger existing association. Lower share = PR/optimization opportunity.
Key Finding
TechCrunch is LH's strongest media association. When AI platforms cite TechCrunch (28 times), LH appears in 50% of those responses—the highest volume + high share combination. Forbes shows solid association (30.8% share across 26 citations). These relationships reflect existing coverage that AI platforms recognize. Maintain and deepen these editorial relationships.
PR Opportunity
Time, Business Insider, and Inc. are coverage gaps. These outlets are cited by AI platforms in VC-related queries, but LH never appears alongside them. When Time is cited (10 times across responses), LH is absent 100% of the time. These are actionable PR targets—coverage in these outlets would create new AI-discoverable associations.
Database Optimization Priority
Crunchbase and PitchBook are highest-impact platforms. They're cited most frequently (89 and 74 times), but LH only appears alongside them ~15-20% of the time. This gap suggests profile optimization opportunity—ensuring LH data is complete, current, and prominently featured. 4Degrees shows 0% LH share across 24 citations—a significant gap on an emerging founder research platform. CB Insights (5.3% share) and OpenVC (4.3%) also represent optimization opportunities.
Competitive Intelligence
Market Position by AI Mentions
Total mention count across 230 unbranded tests only. Rankings exclude branded queries to ensure fair competitive comparison. Study used sector-agnostic queries favoring broad-mandate VCs.
Mega-Tier VCs (Multi-Stage / Global)
Accel
188
Andreessen Horowitz
157
Sequoia Capital
152
Insight Partners
127
Mid-Tier VCs (Stage / Sector Specialists)
Bessemer Venture Partners
79
Lightspeed Venture Partners
76
First Round Capital
70
Union Square Ventures
61
NYC / Consumer-Focused Seed VCs
Forerunner Ventures
13
Lerer Hippeau LH
9
Competitive Context
Study design favored mega-VCs. Sector-agnostic queries like "best VCs for B2B SaaS" naturally surface firms with broad mandates. LH's #29 ranking (9 mentions) should be interpreted against this methodology—queries deliberately avoided NYC, consumer, and DTC focus areas. Among peer NYC seed funds, LH appeared more frequently than smaller funds but less than multi-stage players like USV.
Platform Analysis
Performance by AI Platform
Unbranded query visibility across each AI platform. 46 tests per platform (54 total minus 8 branded).
Gemini
10.9%
Strongest
Claude
4.3%
Moderate
ChatGPT
2.2%
Developing
Perplexity
2.2%
Developing
Meta Llama
0.0%
Gap
Platform Variation
Gemini significantly outperforms other platforms for LH visibility (10.9% vs. 2-4% average). This may reflect differences in training data recency or source weighting. Meta Llama showed zero LH mentions in unbranded queries—worth monitoring as this platform gains adoption. Note: Grok and DeepSeek were excluded due to API connectivity issues during data collection.
Partner Recognition
Individual Partner Visibility
Partner mentions across all 270 tests. Branded queries included partner-specific searches to validate recognition.
Ben Lerer
40
mentions across all tests
Eric Hippeau
40
mentions across all tests
Andrea Hippeau
15
mentions across all tests
Other Partners
8
mentions across all tests
Partner Recognition
Ben Lerer and Eric Hippeau as co-founders have strong name recognition—appearing in all branded query responses. Andrea Hippeau shows growing visibility. Partner-specific thought leadership content could increase individual recognition in unbranded queries.
Portfolio Attribution
When Portfolio Companies Appear, Is LH Credited?
Estimated attribution rate—how often LH is mentioned when discussing notable portfolio companies. Based on branded query responses.
BuzzFeed
100%
Strong association
Warby Parker
~80%
Strong association
Casper
~85%
Strong association
Allbirds
~75%
Good association
Glossier
~70%
Good association
Mirror
~65%
Moderate association
Axios
~60%
Moderate association
Calm
~40%
Attribution gap
Attribution Note
These are estimated rates based on branded query responses where portfolio companies were mentioned. BuzzFeed shows strongest attribution to LH, likely due to Ben Lerer's co-founding role. Companies like Calm show attribution gaps—additional owned content highlighting the LH investment relationship could strengthen these associations.
Query Appendix
Complete Test Results
All 270 tests with filtering and sorting. Use filters to explore specific patterns.
Category
Platform
LH Mentioned
Query Type
Search
Showing 270 of 270 results
| Query | Type | Category | Platform | LH Mentioned | Featured Firm |
|---|
Methodology
Study Parameters & Limitations
Study Parameters
- 54 unique queries tested across 5 AI platforms
- 270 successful tests (54 queries × 5 platforms)
- Platforms: ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, Gemini, Meta Llama
- Data collected: December 3, 2025
- 2,503 total citations captured
- 79 citations to lererhippeau.com
- Note: Grok and DeepSeek excluded due to API failures
Query Design Philosophy
- Deliberately sector-agnostic to test baseline discovery
- No NYC-specific queries (would favor LH unfairly)
- No consumer/DTC-specific queries (LH specialty)
- Tests competitive positioning against mega-VCs
- 8 branded queries (15%) for quality validation
- 46 unbranded queries (85%) for organic discovery
Important Limitations
- Snapshot in time—AI responses vary by day, session, context
- Query phrasing significantly influences results
- Sector-agnostic design understates LH's core strengths
- Does not measure actual founder decision-making behavior
- VC selection remains relationship-driven beyond AI discovery
- Platform algorithms evolve continuously
- 2 of 7 planned platforms had API connectivity issues
Recommended Follow-Up
- Test NYC/East Coast specific queries
- Test consumer/DTC-focused queries
- Test media/entertainment sector queries
- Re-attempt Grok and DeepSeek with updated API routing
- Quarterly monitoring to track changes
- Compare against peer NYC seed funds specifically
Recommended Use
This analysis provides a rigorous baseline of organic discovery without bias toward LH's known strengths. The 3.9% unbranded visibility rate represents performance against mega-VCs in sector-agnostic queries—not LH's full competitive position. Follow-up testing of NYC, consumer, and DTC queries would complete the picture. Use findings to inform content strategy and PR prioritization, and monitor quarterly as platform algorithms evolve.