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In this conversation with Homan Yuen, Managing Partner at Keymaker, he reflects on the long movement from science to startups to investing, and on what he learned along the way about building companies, evaluating technology, and navigating a career that did not unfold in a straight line. What emerges is a career shaped not by a single leap but by a series of thoughtful recalibrations.

We sit down with Hana Yang, co‑founder of Allocate, whose remarkable journey spans three continents and a career shaped by impact, resilience, and deep purpose.  From her upbringing in Argentina to building intelligent infrastructure for private markets, Hana shares how her tri‑cultural identity, entrepreneurial family roots, and passion for access have informed her leadership.  She opens up about the realities of startup life and the mindset shifts that helped her thrive.  A

On March 12, Asian Tech Collective hosted our Lunar New Year Banquet at Palette Tea Garden in San Mateo, bringing together 70 VCs, LPs, and founders for a night of great food and even better conversation. The dinner featured a banquet-style spread of refined dim sum, standout seafood and wok dishes, and signature dishes like shaking beef, millionaire fried rice, and Peking duck.

We sit down with Steven Hong — co-founder of Kumu and Oculii, the AI radar and perception company acquired by Ambarella for $400 million — for a candid look at the path that took him from an academic childhood in Ohio to building and exiting deep-tech companies at the frontier of AI and autonomous systems. Hong reflects on the early influence of growing up as the son of an electrical engineering professor, the pivotal moments that pulled

Wendy Li is Co-founder and Chief Investment Officer of Ivy Invest, where she leads portfolio construction and investment strategy for an endowment-style platform designed for individual investors. Prior to founding Ivy Invest, Wendy spent nearly two decades as an institutional investor stewarding multi-billion-dollar portfolios for some of New York’s most prominent mission-driven organizations.

What shapes a venture capitalist long before they ever write a check? In this ATC interview, we sat down with Sophia Zhao, Partner at Alumni Ventures, to trace the throughline from her childhood in Chengdu and Vancouver to her work backing founders across AI, Web3, and women-led ventures.

Japanese manga now commands roughly 50% of the $2 billion US comics market and a staggering 76% of trade bookstore sales. While Marvel and DC doubled down on the “legacy code” of infinite, circular superhero narratives, Japanese creators captured Gen Z with a superior product architecture: linear, finite narratives defined by moral complexity and permanent consequence. This is a masterclass in market disruption, where a patient, 20-year customer acquisition strategy finally t

Pasy Wang is the Chief Investment Officer of Cedars-Sinai, where she leads one of the highest-performing endowment teams in the country. Born and raised in Culver City, she began her journey studying electrical engineering at UCLA before discovering a love for travel and problem-solving that carried her into the consulting world during the first tech boom.

For more than fifty years, the Asian Law Caucus (ALC) has been a national leader in protecting the civil and legal rights of Asian American and Pacific Islander communities. In this interview, Aarti Kohli, Executive Director of the Asian Law Caucus, reflects on the organization’s roots and its mission to ensure that every person—regardless of language, status, or income—has access to safety, stability, and a sense of belonging in the place they call home.

What does it take to build a company that challenges industry giants and a venture firm at the same time?  In this exclusive ATC interview, Judy Canalin sits down with David Zhu, CEO and co-founder of Reevo and founding partner of Zhu Ventures, for a candid conversation on entrepreneurship, resilience, and the power of lifelong relationships. 

A look back at ATC’s Moon Festival Banquet—an evening of community, Korean BBQ, and keynote insights from Aarti Kohli of the Asian Law Caucus.

Jane Chen, co-founder of Embrace Innovations, helped pioneer a low-cost infant incubator that has saved over one million babies worldwide—an innovation that won the Economist Innovation Award, brought her to the White House to present to President Obama, and earned the support of Beyoncé to expand into Africa. Now, with her memoir Like a Wave We Break (Penguin Random House, Oct 14), she shares a deeply personal journey of resilience, healing, and leadership.

Tim Hwang is the founder of FiscalNote, a company transforming how organizations engage with policy and regulatory data. Beyond FiscalNote, Tim is actively involved in a number of ventures spanning fintech, AI, cybersecurity, and healthcare, building companies that tackle highly complex, regulated markets. Michelle Moon from Asian Tech Collective sat down with Tim to discuss his journey, company-building philosophy, and the perspective he brings as a Korean American entrepren

Jenny Xiao is a Partner at Leonis Capital, a research-driven VC fund focused on seed and pre-seed AI companies. Before Leonis, she was an early employee at OpenAI and a Ph.D. researcher at Columbia. She left OpenAI just a week after ChatGPT took off to join forces with her partner, Jay Zhao, to build a research-driven fund backing AI-native companies. Jenny’s research has been featured in Nature, the NYT, the WSJ, and Bloomberg.

Han Shen is the Founding Partner of iFly VC, a U.S. venture capital firm focused on investments that bring American consumers joy. Born and raised in Nanjing, China, Han came to the United States in 1998 to pursue a PhD in Chemistry at the University of Chicago. He had expected to follow his parents into academia, but years as a scientist, followed by an MBA at Wharton, drew him toward the challenge of turning ideas into real-world innovations, using venture capital as the ca

In this month’s LP feature, we sit down with Aakar Vachhani, Managing Partner at Fairview Capital, to explore his personal journey, professional evolution, and insights into the venture capital landscape. From growing up in a multi-generational household shaped by immigration and resilience, to building a career rooted in curiosity and conviction, Aakar shares thoughtful reflections on the changing dynamics of emerging managers, the impact of AI, and the importance of relatio

Michelle Moon from Asian Tech Collective sat down with Xiao Wang, CEO of Boundless, to discuss his personal journey, the exciting challenges of building a mission-driven company in immigration, and what it takes to scale excellence in a high-trust industry. Boundless is a technology-first immigration platform, with a 99.7% approval rate and millions of monthly users.

Jessie Jia Guo is an Investment Partner at Next Legacy, a mission-driven fund-of-funds that backs early-stage technology venture funds and companies. With over $3.5 billion in AUM, $2.8 billion in charitable distributions and a deep commitment to supporting early-stage U.S. technology funds, the platform blends institutional rigor with values-based investing

For this edition of the Asian Tech Collective founder spotlight, we sat down with Alex Lee, the Co-Founder and CEO at Truewind, an AI-powered accounting platform trusted by hundreds of businesses and firms. In this candid conversation, Alex shares how his journey—from aerospace engineer to venture capitalist to two-time founder—shaped his approach to building companies. W