Lorenzo Thione

Overview

Lorenzo Thione is an angel investor and entrepreneur based in Chicago, Illinois. He is a co-founding partner and managing director at Gaingels, a venture investment syndicate dedicated to supporting LGBTQ+ founders and executives. In this role, he oversees firm strategy, capital allocation, portfolio construction, governance standards, and risk oversight across hundreds of venture-backed companies. Thione has over a decade of institutional investing experience and more than fifteen years of board service spanning for-profit and nonprofit organizations. He has served on the board of StartOut, a nonprofit focused on LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs, for sixteen years, including one term as Board Chair. Additionally, he founded Powerset, Inc., a natural language search company that was acquired by Microsoft in 2008, and served on the board from company formation through the acquisition. Thione holds an M.S. in Computer Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin and a B.S.E.E. equivalency from Politecnico di Milano. He is also a Tony Award-winning Broadway producer, with productions such as 'Hadestown' and 'The Inheritance'.

Investment Focus

• LGBTQ+ founders and executives
• Early-stage technology companies
• Companies with a focus on artificial intelligence, enterprise software, media, and creative industries

Portfolio Companies