The Check
We invest early, when conviction matters most.
We are stage agnostic, and bet on exceptional founders, often doubling down if we need to.
Bamboo Ceilings? We build our own houses.
Hyphen bets on founders based on what they can build, not who they know. We plug you into a network of 1,000+ founders and operators who actually pick up the phone.
- $35M+
- Invested
- 100+
- Companies backed
- 1,000+
- Operator network
Backing the builders shaping what's next.
Hyphen Capital backs Asian American entrepreneurs who were raised to play it safe. Founders who are done jumping through hoops and taking the path that was planned for them — and are ready to build their own houses.
Some of the world's most well-known companies were founded by Asian Americans, from YouTube to DoorDash. We exist so the next generation of those stories are no longer outliers, but the norm.
Read our thesis →How we work
A focused, long-term partnership.
The network
You join a community that opens doors.
1,000+ founders and operators across the most important companies of the last decade — and they actually show up for each other.
Hands-on support
We roll up our sleeves to help you move faster.
Warm intros to customers, investors, and hires — plus product and go-to-market feedback from people who've built before.
Who we back
What we're looking for.
- Stage
- We invest across stages from pre-seed to growth. We can write the first check, believing before anyone else does.
- Who we back
- Asian American founders building enduring companies — across software, AI infra, consumer, and beyond.
- How we invest
- High conviction, no lead required. We back the founder and the work, not the round dynamics.
- Check Size
- We write checks anywhere from $150,000 to $5,000,000 depending on the size and stage of the deal.
- Beyond capital
- Access to a network of founders, executives, lawyers, and operators who help our companies win.
Our investors
Dave Lu
Founder & Managing Partner
Hyphen was founded and is led by Dave Lu, a Silicon Valley veteran who worked at Yahoo!, Apple, eBay, and Cisco before founding Fanpop and Expo.
In 2011 he started the Asian American Founders Circle, now 400+ founders strong, which inspired Hyphen. He also led the Wall Street Journal open letter against anti-Asian hate signed by 8,000+ leaders, and produced the Emmy-winning documentary ‘38 at the Garden.’
The Hyphen Network
A roster that picks up the phone.
We've brought together some of the most successful Asian American founders, executives, and leaders in the world to invest in the next generation.
Kenneth Lin
Founder, Credit Karma
Katrina Lake
Founder, Stitch Fix
Eric Wu
Co-Founder, Opendoor
Sam Yam
Co-Founder, Patreon
Deb Liu
Former CEO, Ancestry
John Kim
Chief Product Officer, PayPal
Shuo Wang
Co-Founder & CRO, Deel
Bryant Chou
Co-Founder & CTO, Webflow
Tim Chen
Co-Founder, NerdWallet
Jason Kwon
Chief Strategy Officer, OpenAI
Shan-Lyn Ma
Founder, Zola
George Hu
Former COO, Salesforce & Twilio
Allen Shim
Former CFO, Slack
Min-Liang Tan
Founder, Razer
Jeremy Lin
Former NBA Player
Hannah Yang
Chief Growth Officer, The New York Times
Albert Lee
Co-Founder, MyFitnessPal
Kevin Chou
Co-Founder, Kabam and Rally
Ellen Chen
Co-Founder, Mendocino Farms
Patrick Lee
Co-Founder, Rotten Tomatoes
Larry Liu
CEO and Founder, Weee!
Andrea Cherng
Chief Brand Officer, Panda Restaurant Group
Tim Wan
Former CFO, Asana
Eric Ly
Co-Founder, LinkedIn
Lisa Chang
Global Chief People Officer, Coca-Cola
Faye Iosotaluno
Former CEO, Tinder
George Ruan
Co-Founder, Honey
Steve Chen
Co-Founder, YouTube
Jenny Ming
CEO, Rothy's / Founder Old Navy
Yony Feng
Co-Founder, Peloton
Susan Li
CFO, Meta
Melody Lee
CMO, Mercedes-Benz USA
Samantha Wu
Former CMO, Eventbrite
Sylvia Dong
EVP, Walt Disney
Eunice Kim
Former Chief Product Officer, Netflix
Sheila Liria Marcelo
Founder, Care.com
Albert Cheng
VP, Head of Amazon AI Studios
David Liu
Co-founder, The Knot
Eddie Kim
Co-Founder, Gusto
Chris Suh
CFO, Visa
Tien Tzuo
CEO and Co-Founder, Zuora
Julia Hu
CEO and Co-Founder, Lark Health
David Ko
CEO, Calm
Debby Soo
CEO, OpenTable
Joe Park
CTO, YUM! Brands
Mike Lee
Co-Founder, MyFitnessPal
Anthony Soohoo
CEO, MoneyGram
Kelly Liang
SVP, Discord
Jackie Hyun
Head of Marketing, Waymo
Marvin Chow
VP, Google
Hedy Chen
VP, NFL
Vinay Shahani
SVP, AT&T
Mark Yoshitake
GM, Amazon Alexa
Allen Lo
VP and Deputy General Counsel, Meta
Chung-Man Tam
Former Senior VP, Affirm
Jennifer Wong
VP, Starbucks
Christina Kong
CFO, Hex
Julien McCluney
VP, Newell Brands
Will Wong
CMO, Talkiatry
Nia Zhang
VP, American Eagle Outfitters
Irene Hwang
VP, Gap
Brandon Chu
Former VP, Shopify
Kevin Zhang
Partner, Upfront Ventures
Angela Hsu
Former CMO, Overstock
Katherine Liu
COO, Paramount International
Chieh Huang
Co-Founder, Boxed
Sabrina Ellis
Former Chief Product Officer, Pinterest
Amy Wei
Chief Commercial Officer, Kayak
Tammy Henault
CMO, NBA
Carol Carpenter
CMO, Cohesity
Peter Wang
Former CTO, Buzzfeed
James Chuong
CFO, LinkedIn
Jason Wang
Co-Founder, Caviar
Kun Gao
Co-Founder, Crunchyroll
Lily Yang
Former CFO, Strava
Andrew Chau
CEO and Co-Founder, Boba Guys
James Shin
President, HYBE America Film and TV
Bindu Shah
CMO and CDO, Equinox
Michelle Tang
Global Chief Growth Officer, McCann
Valen Tong
CFO, Masterclass
Linh Peters
Former CMO, Walgreens
Stefanie Tsen
Former Chief Retail Officer, Neiman Marcus
Ann Minooka
CMO, Synopsys
Denny Tu
Former Global CMO, IMAX
Ira Lam
Head of Legal, Netflix
Our companies
Companies we backed early.
Over 100 companies, including Gamma, Persona, Super.com, and Formation Bio.
Notable outcomes
Acquired by Drata
Acquired by Brex
Acquired by Oddity
Founder testimonials
What founders say about working with Hyphen.
“Dave is a cornerstone of the Silicon Valley founder community. He is selfless with his time and wisdom, and has not only built successful businesses of his own, but also had a helping hand in shaping the success of many other early stage companies in his network. Dave is a great thought partner, the ultimate community-connector, and an all-around great person for any early stage startup to have on their side.”
Nan Wang
CEO, Sleeper
“Having Dave on your side means you are unlocking a network of executives who actually respond to introductions. Just from one update call with Dave, we got a huge list of direct and warm strategic connections that would have taken us months to unlock otherwise.”
Allison Lee
CEO, Revive
“Dave was our first check. He invested in our category with conviction when it was contrarian to do so. He's one of our most value-add investors — and has, as a single individual, the connections rolodex of an entire VC firm.”
Derek Lee
CEO, Boo
“I instantly connected with Dave, because he knows the challenges facing AAPI founders raising capital. Despite our metrics and traction, we always had to work twice as hard for half the amount. Dave immediately recognized our talent and showed his support from day one. It's a mission worth supporting.”
Henry Shi
COO, Super.com
“Dave has supported Persona since its earliest days. As Asian American founders, we understood the need for more entrepreneurial support for our community — and were delighted to work with him to forward Hyphen's mission.”
Rick Song
CEO, Persona
Hyphen Nation
Writing from Dave.
Essays and conversations on building companies, careers, and community from an Asian American perspective.
Sources and further reading
From Dave Lu’s founder writing.
Explore more of Hyphen’s point of view through the investment thesis and Dave’s story.