Welcome Lily Lyman, General Partner at Underscore VC on this episode of 🔥The Lantern🔥
Underscore VC is an earliest-stage venture firm with a clear mission: turn exceptional talent into companies.
Their firm almost always writes the first check at Pre-Seed or Seed, with over a third of their portfolio coming from Harvard, MIT, Northeastern, and other Boston institutions.
🔍 What happened in 2025? 🔎
The Goldcast acquisition by CVENT was a major milestone, a Harvard-born team that demonstrated incredible velocity through COVID market shifts and leaned aggressively into AI before it was easy.
Also, growth stage companies like CloudZero, Hi Marley, and TetraScience are finding momentum as AI reshapes their markets. On the earlier side, cybersecurity bets like Terra Security and ORION Security have been literal rocket ships.
More unannounced early stage startups are in the pipeline!
🗺️ What’s coming in 2026? 🗺️
Lily sees 2026 as the year AI applications finally take shape at the vertical level (insurance, health, life sciences, commerce, logistics, etc.)
Enterprise adoption and real ROI are coming into focus.
She’s especially excited about some new intersections: one stealth company in their portfolio is doing “what Waymo did for self-driving cars, but for science inside a lab.”
AI enabled services are unlocking labor markets, not just software markets. Robotics investments are ramping up.
And Boston’s having a moment. A shout out to Ryan Durkin at WHOOP for leading the Massachusetts AI Coalition and thanks to Brian Halligan for creating momentum and healthy competitive fire.
🤔 What has Lily learned from building Underscore? 🤔
Volatility is the new normal.
The winning attribute for founders and investors alike is high velocity learning.
How quickly can you absorb new information, put it into practice, and identify the next thing to learn. The breakaway companies in Underscore’s portfolio all share this trait.
Lily advises teams to balance conviction with agility. Don’t rest on your laurels. Bring hustle, bring heat, and stay perpetually curious…but grounded in what you believe to be true.
🤝 How can we help Underscore grow? 🤝
Underscore wants to meet exceptional talent early. Future founders, current founders, and operators who’ve been at fast-growing startups and are getting the itch.
They want to be a connector and a center of gravity for Boston’s innovation ecosystem. If you know great people, make an intro!