Moritz Baier-Lentz Explained

Moritz Baier-Lentz
Birth Name:Moritz Baier
Birth Date:20 January 1986
Birth Place:Hanover, Germany
Nationality:German-American
Education:Stanford University (M.B.A, M.A.)
Employer:Lightspeed Venture Partners, World Economic Forum, Goldman Sachs, IBM
Boards:Inworld AI
The Believer Company
Gardens Interactive
Methodical Games
Lightforge Games
TRIPP
Spouse:Alissa Baier-Lentz

Moritz Baier-Lentz is a German-American venture capitalist. He is a partner and the head of gaming at Lightspeed Venture Partners,[1] leading the firm's investments in game studios, platforms, and technologies.[2] Previously, Baier-Lentz was a vice president in the investment banking division of Goldman Sachs, where he founded and led the firm's global gaming practice.[3] A former #1 ranked competitive player of Diablo II,[4] he has invested over $100 million[5] into entrepreneurs who have been leading the creation of video games like Fortnite,[6] Call of Duty,[7] League of Legends,[8] [9] Halo, Destiny, Overwatch, Valorant,[10] Apex Legends, Sky,[11] StarCraft II, and Warcraft III.[12]

Awards and professional memberships

In 2016 and 2017, Baier-Lentz was regarded by Forbes (United States) and Capital (Germany) as one of the most influential finance professionals in their 30 Under 30 and 40 Under 40 lists, respectively.[13] [14] [15] In 2017, he joined the German-American Atlantik-Brücke[16] and in 2023, he was recognized as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum[17] and invited to participate as a delegate in the 54th Annual Meeting in Davos.[18] Baier-Lentz holds an MBA and M.A. from Stanford University, and graduated as an Arjay Miller Scholar.[19]

Early life and education

Baier-Lentz grew up as a first-generation high school graduate in rural Germany[20] and spent his teenage years playing Blizzard Entertainment’s multiplayer action role-playing game Diablo II, culminating in a global #1 ranking among 13 million active players in 2003.[21] He used a combination of proceeds from virtual goods sales[22] and German national academic merit scholarships from Studienstiftung and DAAD to help finance his undergraduate and graduate studies.[23]

Career

Investment banking

After starting his career as a data scientist at IBM, Baier-Lentz joined Goldman Sachs as an investment banker, and founded and led the firm's global gaming practice.[24] During his tenure as vice president, he advised gaming and technology corporations on over $300 billion in transaction volume across mergers and acquisitions, initial public offerings, venture capital, and other strategic transactions, including Dell's $67 billion acquisition of EMC and IBM’s $34 billion purchase of Red Hat.

Venture capital

Baier-Lentz went on to become a partner and management team member at BITKRAFT Ventures,[25] where he invested during the firm's time as the most active gaming venture capital firm and lead investor in 2020, 2021, and 2022 before joining Lightspeed in 2023.

Speaking engagements

Baier-Lentz has been featured as a speaker at the World Economic Forum,[26] Goldman Sachs,[27] Stanford University,[28] Harvard University,[29] Massachusetts Institute of Technology,[30] Axios,[31] South by Southwest,[32] Slush,[33] and the Game Developers Conference.[34]

Personal life

Baier-Lentz is an Ironman and ultramarathon runner, including the 251-kilometer long, self-sufficient Marathon des Sables[35] and the World Marathon Challenge (7 marathons on 7 continents within 7 days).[36] [37]

References

  1. Web site: Renbarger . Madeline . How VC Moritz Baier-Lentz went from being one of the world's best professional gamers to the new head of Lightspeed's gaming practice . 2023-04-10 . Business Insider . en-US.
  2. Web site: Gardner . Matt . Lightspeed Taps Gamer-Turned-VC To Lead Firm's Debut Gaming Arm . 2023-04-10 . Forbes . en.
  3. Web site: Flynn . Kerry . 2023-01-18 . Lightspeed hires Baier-Lentz as head of gaming . 2023-04-10 . Axios . en.
  4. Web site: Renbarger . Madeline . How VC Moritz Baier-Lentz went from being one of the world's best professional gamers to the new head of Lightspeed's gaming practice . 2023-05-06 . Business Insider . en-US.
  5. Web site: Gardner . Matt . Gardens Raises $31 Million, Gets Nintendo, Sony, Microsoft Exec Backing . 2023-07-26 . Forbes . en.
  6. Web site: Gardner . Matt . Lightforge Games Raises $15 Million For New RPG From Big-Name Investors . 2023-04-10 . Forbes . en.
  7. Web site: 2022-11-16 . Methodical Games raises $15M to create multiplayer action-adventure game . 2023-04-10 . VentureBeat . en-US.
  8. Web site: Lunden . Ingrid . 2023-03-07 . Believer, a new approach to gaming, raises $55M from Lightspeed, a16z and more . 2023-04-10 . TechCrunch . en-US.
  9. Web site: 2023-03-07 . Ex-Riot employees raise $55M for new studio The Believer Company . 2023-04-10 . VentureBeat . en-US.
  10. Web site: 2021-03-04 . Riot veterans raise $37.5 million for Theorycraft Games startup . 2023-04-10 . VentureBeat . en-US.
  11. Web site: 2021-07-11 . Gardens raises $31.3M for fantasy action role-playing game . 2023-11-08 . VentureBeat . en-US.
  12. Web site: 2023-01-18 . Lightspeed picks up Moritz Baier-Lentz to lead game investments . 2023-05-05 . VentureBeat . en-US.
  13. Web site: 30 Under 30 2016: Finance . 2023-05-06 . Forbes . en.
  14. Web site: Forbes Profile: Moritz Baier-Lentz . 2023-06-05 . Forbes . en.
  15. Web site: Das sind die Nachwuchs-Talente der Finanzbranche . 2023-05-06 . capital.de . 20 February 2018 . de.
  16. Web site: Atlantik-Brücke Jahresbericht 2017/18. 2023-06-05 . en.
  17. Web site: New Class . 2023-05-06 . The Forum of Young Global Leaders . en.
  18. Web site: World Economic Forum Annual Meeting . 2024-01-27 . World Economic Forum . en.
  19. Web site: Past Award & Certificate Recipients . 2023-05-06 . Stanford Graduate School of Business . en.
  20. Web site: Lightspeed's new head of gaming wants to rethink investments in the vertical PitchBook . 2023-04-10 . pitchbook.com . en.
  21. Web site: Renbarger . Madeline . How VC Moritz Baier-Lentz went from being one of the world's best professional gamers to the new head of Lightspeed's gaming practice . 2023-05-06 . Business Insider . en-US.
  22. Web site: What play-to-earn games mean for the economy - and metaverse . 2023-05-06 . World Economic Forum . 22 November 2021 . en.
  23. Web site: Einer, der auszog . 2023-05-06 . asv.faz.net.
  24. Web site: Morrell . Alex . RISING STARS: Meet 16 investment bankers age 35 and under doing huge deals . 2023-05-06 . Business Insider . en-US.
  25. Web site: Shieber . Jonathan . 2020-02-21 . Gaming-focused investment firm Bitkraft closes in on at least $140 million for its second fund . 2023-05-06 . TechCrunch . en-US.
  26. Web site: Moritz Baier-Lentz - Agenda Contributor . 2023-05-08 . World Economic Forum . en.
  27. Web site: Goldman Sachs Podcast: 'Exchanges at Goldman Sachs' - Episode 92: eSports: The New Global Pastime . 2023-05-08 . Goldman Sachs . en-US.
  28. Web site: FAME Conference 2022: The Metaverse FAME Conference 2022 . 2023-05-08 . fameconference.sites.stanford.edu . 20 April 2022 . en.
  29. Web site: Side Program – 2019 German American Conference at Harvard . 2023-05-08 . en-US.
  30. Web site: Guests - MIT Gaming Industry Club MIT Sloan School of Management . 2023-04-10 . sloangroups.mit.edu.
  31. Web site: Media dealmakers chat AI as a business accelerator Axios . 2023-05-18 . axios.com.
  32. Web site: Reality Check: Are VR and AR Ready for Prime Time? . 2023-05-08 . SXSW 2023 Schedule . en.
  33. Web site: Slush Nov 30 - Dec 1, Helsinki: Moritz Baier-Lentz, Partner & Head of Gaming at Lightspeed Venture Partners . 2023-11-08 . Slush 2023 Speakers . en.
  34. Web site: GDC 2023 SESSION VIEWER .
  35. News: Longman . Jeré . 2019-04-25 . An Amputee's Toughest Challenge Yet: Her 140-Mile Run in the Desert . en-US . The New York Times . 2023-06-02 . 0362-4331.
  36. Web site: World Marathon Challenge 2023 Competitors & Results. 2023-06-02 . World Marathon Challenge . en-GB.
  37. Web site: Screentime: The Venture Investor Who Runs Through Antarctica in Silence . 2023-04-10 . The Information.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Moritz Baier-Lentz".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2024, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.