With funding in place, NextLadder Ventures is advancing a plan to create a new technology category that helps Americans navigate major life decisions, while bringing critical resources and leadership to the Missouri Innovation Ecosystem.
Based in St. Louis, the fund is supported by over $1 billion in capital and will be led by a recently announced co-founder team.
The Navigation Technology (NavTech) initiative aims to support personalized, technology-enabled tools that help individuals and families make informed decisions during critical life events.
It includes financial setbacks, job transitions, and the process of accessing public benefits. Further exploration will include legal aid, justice and re-entry, caregiving, and mental and physical health.
NextLadder plans to deploy this capital over the next seven years to accelerate the design, development, and adoption of NavTech tools.
Boost to Missouri Innovation Ecosystem
This initiative is a big boost for the Missouri innovation ecosystem.
The more than $1 billion in capital gives Missouri’s growing role in technology, venture investing, and impact-driven entrepreneurship national visibility.
By focusing on AI-enabled Navigation Technology, economic mobility, and scalable support tools, NextLadder will attract founders, investors, technical talent, and ecosystem partners to the region.
Most importantly, Missouri continues to emerge as a hub of innovation that addresses real-world challenges facing American families.
The Future of Navigation Technology
Navigation Technology refers to digital tools that help people work through pivotal events by providing options, access to resources, and ways to take action.
NextLadder positions NavTech as a new market category at the intersection of artificial intelligence, economic mobility, public policy, philanthropy, and venture investing.
The fund states that AI now enables highly personalized support at a scale and cost that was previously unattainable.
“Life is getting harder, and too many Americans are stuck facing some of the most complex and consequential moments of their lives without much support,” said Ryan Rippel, CEO of NextLadder Ventures.
NavTech Breakdown
NextLadder’s focus on financial health includes AI-powered tools that offer tailored financial guidance, help users build savings, and assist in protecting or recovering from financial shocks.
The target market is families facing unexpected expenses, unstable income, or complex financial decisions.
The second focus area is career navigation. NextLadder will support technologies that help workers manage job transitions, identify pathways to living-wage employment, and assist case managers and employers in connecting people with better opportunities.
As AI transforms the labor market, these tools will become increasingly valuable for workers adapting to new roles and industries.
The third priority is access to benefits and social services. NextLadder will support solutions that help eligible Americans identify and enroll in available benefits and services.
These tools are especially useful during critical moments such as job loss, housing instability, caregiving challenges, or financial hardship.
The fund is investing not only in direct NavTech solutions, but also in the developers, partners, and standards required to build a sustainable market. Across all focus areas, NextLadder emphasizes reliability, privacy protection, and user trust.
New Leadership Team Includes Google and Collaborative Fund Veterans
NextLadder also announced its five co-founders: Ryan Rippel, CEO; Rhett Dornbach-Bender, Chief Strategy and Operations Officer; Callie Schwartz, Chief of Staff; Lauren Loktev, Managing Director of Investments; and Brigitte Hoyer Gosselink, Managing Director of Product.
Rippel is the co-founder of Upward Momentum, a Missouri based fund that invests in transformative interventions and partnerships, helping to increase access to opportunity and economic mobility across Missouri. Focus is on caring for families, navigating the labor market, and bridging divides between leaders and organizations across the state to collectively tackle issues.
Loktev joins NextLadder from Collaborative Fund, where she invested in companies focused on early childhood development, education, and sustainability. At NextLadder, she will lead the venture practice and work with founders building NavTech companies.
“We have a once in a generation opportunity to help steer AI solutions toward those who need them most,” Loktev said, adding that NextLadder’s long-term mandate gives it flexibility to invest across stages and check sizes.
Gosselink joins from Google, where she led the company’s AI and social impact portfolio and directed over $500 million in funding for organizations applying AI to challenges such as crisis response, education, and economic opportunity.
At NextLadder, she will guide AI and product strategy across the portfolio and help establish standards for designing, evaluating, and improving NavTech tools.
A New Market for AI and Economic Mobility
NextLadder’s NavTech tools seek to benefit both families and the community workers who support them. The fund highlights the potential to serve millions of Americans struggling with household expenses, while enabling nonprofit, local, state, and federal workers to spend less time on administrative tasks and more time assisting people directly.
For entrepreneurs, the initiative offers a significant new funding source for startups developing AI-enabled tools focused on economic mobility, access to services, and personal empowerment.
For the broader innovation ecosystem, NextLadder’s $1 billion commitment may help define a new venture category centered on technology that not only automates work but also helps people navigate life-changing decisions.
NextLadder Ventures’ long-term goal is to empower millions of Americans to reach their potential by 2040. With its co-founder team in place and initial investment priorities announced, the organization aims to make Navigation Technology easier to build, fund, and access for those who need it most.
