Judith Dada of Visionaries Joins Langdock, AI Startup

Judith Dada Takes on a New Role at Langdock

Judith Dada, who serves as a general partner at Visionaries, has recently made the decision to join the Berlin-based startup Langdock as co-CEO. Despite this new role, she will continue her duties at Visionaries, where she is involved in an upcoming fundraising round scheduled for this year.

Langdock stands out for its ability to integrate various artificial intelligence models within a single platform. This integration allows companies to navigate between different models, such as Gemini, Anthropic, OpenAI, or Mistral, to meet various needs, including the deployment of AI agents. Although Langdock has maintained a relatively low profile, it successfully raised $3 million in 2024, with funding led by General Catalyst and the former team of La Famiglia, where Dada had previously invested. Support from Y Combinator and individual investors, such as Johannes Reck, co-founder of GetYourGuide, has also been crucial.

Visionaries recently announced that it has reached $40 million in annual recurring revenue while being profitable. Dada explained to Sifted that her commitment to Langdock stems from her belief that the impact of this technology is so significant that she must fully invest herself in it. She added that investing will remain an integral part of her business, but the current moment requires increased focus on her part.

A New Strategic Direction

Rob Lacher, co-founder of Visionaries, mentioned that the company is "partnering" with Langdock, although he declined to disclose further details publicly, confirming nonetheless that Visionaries is an investor in Langdock. In her new role, Dada will focus on external aspects, engaging with policymakers, clients, and businesses to promote successful adoption of AI, as well as addressing communication and marketing issues.

This shift for Dada comes as discussions about strengthening sovereign AI capabilities in Europe intensify. However, Langdock has recently faced criticism for its registration in Delaware, as the current trend favors establishing AI companies on European soil. Dada clarified that registration in the U.S. is a requirement for companies backed by Y Combinator, but she emphasized that the majority of the capital is now held by Europeans.

Langdock has over 10,000 clients, ranging from small to large enterprises, according to Dada.

Towards European Sovereignty in AI

The question of European sovereignty in AI is a central topic for Dada, who recently contributed to a document titled Europe 2031. This document highlights that Europe has underestimated the pace of advancements in AI and proposes actions to bridge this gap. This issue was recently underscored when Anthropic, an American AI model manufacturer, restricted access to two of its most powerful models due to U.S. export control guidelines.

Dada stated that Europeans are now realizing that access to AI models is not guaranteed. As AI becomes more powerful and transformative, redefining business competitiveness, access to independent and sovereign intelligence becomes crucial.

However, Langdock, like other European startups, uses American infrastructure for its data, notably Microsoft Azure. Dada believes that creating "true sovereign AI," with data centers under European jurisdiction, represents a major opportunity. She noted that companies like Langdock are aware of the implications of the U.S. Cloud Act, which could allow U.S. authorities to access data stored by American companies, even if hosted in the EU. However, she has not yet been able to share more details on the measures Langdock is taking in this regard.

An Emerging Trend of Investor-Operators

Dada is not the only European investor adding the title of CEO to her resume. Last year, Uwe Horstmann, co-founder of the Berlin-based venture capital firm Project A, joined the German drone startup Stark as CEO while retaining his role as an investor. Lacher mentioned some American companies, such as Founders Fund, whose partners navigate between the roles of investors and operators. "In Europe, we hope to see more of these operators in venture capital, or even taking on roles on both sides."

Dada hopes this initiative will spark a trend, although it may raise concerns about conflicts of interest. She emphasized that these concerns are always a priority, noting that it is "not unusual" for founders to invest as angels. Lacher believes that Dada's new role will give Visionaries "a direct line into the operational fabric of AI." "We think it's a bold and excellent step for Judith to take on this role. It doesn't change much, to be honest, in the day-to-day work."