# HearstLab

> HearstLab is Hearst’s strategic corporate venture fund for early-stage, women-led technology companies. It combines investment with operating support and introductions across Hearst’s businesses, particularly for B2B and B2B2C startups with a working product, market validation, and a strategic connection to the parent company.

- **Founded:** 2016
- **Headquarters:** New York, United States
- **Founders:** Eve Burton (Co-founder and Chairwoman)
- **Products:** Strategic venture investment, Operating support, HearstLab Scout Network, Pitch HearstLab, Founder community and workspace
- **Notable:** Current homepage reports 90+ women-led investments and $3.2 billion in aggregate portfolio valuation, not HearstLab’s own valuation., 2025 year-in-review reports seven new investments and eight follow-on investments., 2025 year-in-review reports 220 Scouts and the introduction of Scout Tracks.

## Products & services

- **Strategic venture investment** — Capital for early-stage women-led technology businesses with a working product and market validation. Homepage emphasizes Seed and Series A; newer newsletters describe Seed through Series B and investments up to $2M+.
- **Operating support** — Hands-on legal, sales, marketing, finance, fundraising, engineering, product, privacy, and security assistance for portfolio companies.
- **HearstLab Scout Network** — Women executives across Hearst volunteer expertise, advice, and introductions; 220 Scouts were reported in the 2025 review.
- **Pitch HearstLab** — Pitch competitions offering investment, including $100,000 awards in US events and €100,000 investments at the 2024 London event. These are investments rather than unrestricted grants.
- **Founder community and workspace** — Founder workshops, CEO summits, executive roundtables, mentorship, and access to office space including Hearst Tower.

## Achievements

- Current homepage reports 90+ women-led investments and $3.2 billion in aggregate portfolio valuation, not HearstLab’s own valuation.
- 2025 year-in-review reports seven new investments and eight follow-on investments.
- 2025 year-in-review reports 220 Scouts and the introduction of Scout Tracks.
- April 2024 pitch announcement reports more than $100 million invested cumulatively in 70+ women-led startups.
- A July 23 newsletter celebrates GlossGenius reaching a $1.15 billion valuation and gives aggregate portfolio valuation above $3.5 billion; the accessible article does not show a publication year.

## Latest updates

- **2026-08** — Beth Devin published an investment perspective emphasizing founder judgment, industry knowledge, strategic capital, customer evidence, and risk pricing; it also describes the Founderz/Fitch Learning connection.
- **2026-06** — Announced an investment in ikura, its fourth investment in Japan, supporting multilingual AI customer service, reservations, and payments for tourism businesses.
- **2026-06** — Lisa Burton described AI-assisted investment workflows, reporting more than 5,000 companies evaluated versus 265 at the same point the prior year and roughly 2,000 hours saved.
- **2026-01** — Published its 2025 review, reporting seven new investments, eight follow-ons, and 220 Scouts.

## Links

- Website: https://www.hearstlab.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/hearstlab/
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/HearstLab

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/hearstlab
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-25