Building Globally—Our Partnership with the World Economic Forum to Serve Founders Worldwide

Lightspeed’s Truly Global Mission

We decided over 15 years ago to build a global firm that serves founders and markets everywhere. We’ve always believed the best ideas and most innovative business models can emerge from anywhere in the world.

That’s why, at Lightspeed, we’ve made it our mission to meet founders where they are, earn their trust, and work alongside them as they navigate their startup journey.

This global mindset is at the heart of everything we do: we’ve backed founders in AI, enterprise, consumer, gaming, fintech, and healthcare not just in the U.S. but also across dynamic markets in Latin America, Europe, Israel, India, Southeast Asia, and beyond. Today, more than half of our 70+ investors are based outside the U.S., spanning 13 offices in seven countries, and nearly half of our ~900 portfolio companies have international roots.

A Week of Insights and Discussion: YGL Learning Journey and Our Partnership with the World Economic Forum

This commitment to a borderless ecosystem was front and center during this week’s Young Global Leaders (YGL) Learning Journey in Silicon Valley. It’s also shared by our co-organizing partner, the World Economic Forum (WEF).

Earlier this month, we hosted a five-day immersive experience that dove into every aspect of entrepreneurship and leadership, attended by 55 YGLs from 35 different countries—ranging from world-leading contributors to the field of generative artificial intelligence like Richard Socher to Paralympic gold medalists like Birgit Skarstein.

While we explored the driving forces behind Silicon Valley, the true focus was on learning from each other and understanding how our diverse ecosystems around the world operated and thrived.

The program unfolded across five focus areas: entrepreneurial leadership, ideation, organization structure, stakeholder capitalism, and securing resources. Each focus area aimed to contribute to the overarching goal: providing a deep dive into the global startup ecosystem.

Partnering with Stanford University’s Department for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence (HAI) and INSEAD, we developed a mix of interactive classes and fireside chats, where we dug deep into topics like market design solutions, digital public infrastructure, and building AI-powered organizations.

Our week also included a conversation with Nobel Prize winner Paul Milgrom and site visits to Stanford University, Paypal, and Google hosted by leaders like Alison Wagonfield, the VP of Marketing at Google Cloud.

We were fortunate to hear from some of the most influential leaders in our industry. Members of our Lightspeed Advisory Council, including Danny Lange, Manuel Bronstein, and John Hanke, generously shared their stories and practical success strategies.

John Hanke (Founder and CEO of Niantic) shared a broader, more holistic approach to extended-reality technology—a vision where companies develop technology products responsibly and in a way that encourages exploration in the physical world rather than adding additional screen time and digital distractions. We spoke about how, in some ways, the rising hardware class of AI-infused wearables (including AI-enabled smart glasses) is delivering on the promise of augmented reality; albeit not always in the traditional form of visual, but logical overlays.

One standout session came from Marissa Mayer (Founder and CEO of Sunshine, and Former CEO of Yahoo), who gave invaluable insights into leadership and strategic thinking that sparked discussions long after the session itself. She urged participants to focus on three critical questions: (1) what they’re working on, (2) what the most important problems are, and (3) if the answers to those two questions are different, why. Mayer also emphasized aligning mentorship through context and intent, with the most effective mentorship coming from having (and communicating) specific goals and approaching every relationship (including with a mentor) with a mindset of reciprocity.

In Manuel Bronstein’s talk (Chief Product Officer of Roblox), he highlighted the importance of fostering team members’ growth and challenging false trade-offs. Rather than choosing between two less-than-ideal options—like prioritizing speed over quality—he urged leaders to revisit the problem and push for solutions that deliver the best outcome without compromise.

But the real magic happened in the conversations—through our lunches and dinners and beyond the formal sessions. These moments were a personal touch to an exciting week that allowed us to connect on a deeper level and reflect on how we can work together.

Continuing Our Collaboration

This program is just one aspect of our partnership with WEF. At Lightspeed, we look forward to deepening our partnership through our work in the Venture and Investor Community, the Defining and Building the Metaverse initiative, the AI Governance Alliance, the Working Group on Frontier Technologies, and the Forum of Young Global Leaders—to name a few.

To everyone we met during the YGL Learning Journey, we hope to see you at our Lighthouse Pavilion on the Promenade at the 2025 Annual Meeting in Davos.