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Judith Dada Becomes Co-CEO of Berlin AI Platform Langdock While Remaining Senior Partner at Visionaries
In late June 2026, Judith Dada—general partner at the European venture‑capital firm Visionaries—announced that she will take on the role of co‑chief executive officer at the Berlin‑based artificial‑intelligence startup Langdock. Dada will begin focusing on Langdock’s operations in September, while continuing to serve as a senior partner at Visionaries, which is preparing a new fundraise later this year.
Langdock is an enterprise‑ready platform that lets companies switch between multiple large‑language models—Gemini, Anthropic, OpenAI and Mistral—within a single operating environment. The system supports a range of functions, including the deployment of AI agents. Since its founding, the company has operated largely out of the public eye. It raised $3 million in 2024, led by General Catalyst and the former La Famiglia team, and has received backing from Y Combinator and angel investors such as GetYourGuide co‑founder Johannes Reck.
According to Visionaries, Langdock recently achieved $40 million in annual recurring revenue and is profitable. The firm said the company’s customer base now exceeds 10 000, spanning small and large organisations. Langdock is registered in Delaware, a common structure for Y Combinator‑backed companies, and it hosts its data on Microsoft Azure, which uses U.S. sub‑processors.
Dada explained her decision to join Langdock in an interview with Sifted. “I got to a point where I felt that this is such a consequential technology that I have to find a vessel or a way for me to truly give it my all,” she said. “I believe that investing will always be a part of that … [but] the nature of this moment just asks more of me in terms of putting my eggs in one basket.” She added that her operational focus will shift to Langdock in September, but she will continue to pursue investment deals opportunistically.
Rob Lacher, co‑founder of Visionaries, said the firm is “partnering” with Langdock but declined to provide further details. He confirmed that Visionaries is an investor in the startup. Lacher also noted that Dada’s new role will give Visionaries a direct line into the operational fabric of AI.
Beyond day‑to‑day management, Dada will take on an external role at Langdock, engaging with policymakers, customers and companies to advocate for responsible AI adoption. She will also oversee communications and marketing for the platform.
The timing of Dada’s move coincides with heightened discussions about Europe’s sovereign AI capabilities. Langdock has faced criticism for being registered in Delaware amid a push for AI companies to operate on European soil. Dada said the U.S. registration is a requirement of Y Combinator, but noted that “the vast majority of the cap table today is in European hands.” She highlighted that the company’s use of Microsoft Azure, a U.S. cloud provider, is typical for European startups that rely on U.S. infrastructure.
Dada has previously contributed to a research paper titled Europe 2031, which argued that Europe misjudged the speed and impact of AI and recommended actions to catch up. She said that the recent decision by U.S. model maker Anthropic to cut off access to two of its most powerful models—following a U.S. export‑control directive—underscored the need for European sovereign AI.
“For the first time Europeans have understood that access to models is not something that is God‑given,” Dada told Sifted. “As AI becomes more powerful and more transformative and really reshapes the core of competitiveness of businesses, having access to the most amount of intelligence in the most independent, sovereign way is actually really crucial.” She added that truly sovereign AI, including data centres fully under European jurisdiction, represents a “really big opportunity.”
Dada acknowledged that the U.S. Cloud Act could allow U.S. authorities to access data stored by U.S. companies even if it resides in an EU data centre. She said Langdock is aware of this risk but could not disclose further details.
The trend of European investors taking executive roles in the companies they back is not new. Last year, Uwe Horstmann, co‑founder of Berlin‑based VC Project A, joined German drone‑startup Stark as CEO while retaining his investor position. Lacher noted that U.S. firms such as Founders Fund have also had partners move between investment and operational roles.
Dada said she hopes her move will spark a broader trend of investors stepping into leadership positions in AI startups. She stressed that potential conflicts of interest are a priority and that “it’s not unusual” for founders to angel‑invest.
The development comes at a time when European regulators are scrutinising the reliance on U.S. cloud providers and the implications of export controls for AI. Langdock’s new leadership, combined with its growing customer base and profitability, positions it at the centre of the debate over how Europe can build a sovereign AI ecosystem while maintaining access to cutting‑edge models.
As the industry watches, Langdock’s next steps will likely include further product releases, potential expansion of its data‑centre footprint, and continued engagement with policymakers to shape the regulatory environment for AI in Europe.
Langdock is an enterprise‑ready platform that lets companies switch between multiple large‑language models—Gemini, Anthropic, OpenAI and Mistral—within a single operating environment. The system supports a range of functions, including the deployment of AI agents. Since its founding, the company has operated largely out of the public eye. It raised $3 million in 2024, led by General Catalyst and the former La Famiglia team, and has received backing from Y Combinator and angel investors such as GetYourGuide co‑founder Johannes Reck.
According to Visionaries, Langdock recently achieved $40 million in annual recurring revenue and is profitable. The firm said the company’s customer base now exceeds 10 000, spanning small and large organisations. Langdock is registered in Delaware, a common structure for Y Combinator‑backed companies, and it hosts its data on Microsoft Azure, which uses U.S. sub‑processors.
Dada explained her decision to join Langdock in an interview with Sifted. “I got to a point where I felt that this is such a consequential technology that I have to find a vessel or a way for me to truly give it my all,” she said. “I believe that investing will always be a part of that … [but] the nature of this moment just asks more of me in terms of putting my eggs in one basket.” She added that her operational focus will shift to Langdock in September, but she will continue to pursue investment deals opportunistically.
Rob Lacher, co‑founder of Visionaries, said the firm is “partnering” with Langdock but declined to provide further details. He confirmed that Visionaries is an investor in the startup. Lacher also noted that Dada’s new role will give Visionaries a direct line into the operational fabric of AI.
Beyond day‑to‑day management, Dada will take on an external role at Langdock, engaging with policymakers, customers and companies to advocate for responsible AI adoption. She will also oversee communications and marketing for the platform.
The timing of Dada’s move coincides with heightened discussions about Europe’s sovereign AI capabilities. Langdock has faced criticism for being registered in Delaware amid a push for AI companies to operate on European soil. Dada said the U.S. registration is a requirement of Y Combinator, but noted that “the vast majority of the cap table today is in European hands.” She highlighted that the company’s use of Microsoft Azure, a U.S. cloud provider, is typical for European startups that rely on U.S. infrastructure.
Dada has previously contributed to a research paper titled Europe 2031, which argued that Europe misjudged the speed and impact of AI and recommended actions to catch up. She said that the recent decision by U.S. model maker Anthropic to cut off access to two of its most powerful models—following a U.S. export‑control directive—underscored the need for European sovereign AI.
“For the first time Europeans have understood that access to models is not something that is God‑given,” Dada told Sifted. “As AI becomes more powerful and more transformative and really reshapes the core of competitiveness of businesses, having access to the most amount of intelligence in the most independent, sovereign way is actually really crucial.” She added that truly sovereign AI, including data centres fully under European jurisdiction, represents a “really big opportunity.”
Dada acknowledged that the U.S. Cloud Act could allow U.S. authorities to access data stored by U.S. companies even if it resides in an EU data centre. She said Langdock is aware of this risk but could not disclose further details.
The trend of European investors taking executive roles in the companies they back is not new. Last year, Uwe Horstmann, co‑founder of Berlin‑based VC Project A, joined German drone‑startup Stark as CEO while retaining his investor position. Lacher noted that U.S. firms such as Founders Fund have also had partners move between investment and operational roles.
Dada said she hopes her move will spark a broader trend of investors stepping into leadership positions in AI startups. She stressed that potential conflicts of interest are a priority and that “it’s not unusual” for founders to angel‑invest.
The development comes at a time when European regulators are scrutinising the reliance on U.S. cloud providers and the implications of export controls for AI. Langdock’s new leadership, combined with its growing customer base and profitability, positions it at the centre of the debate over how Europe can build a sovereign AI ecosystem while maintaining access to cutting‑edge models.
As the industry watches, Langdock’s next steps will likely include further product releases, potential expansion of its data‑centre footprint, and continued engagement with policymakers to shape the regulatory environment for AI in Europe.
