Brian Zhan, a young venture capitalist, has made early investments in Skild AI, Dyna Robotics, Periodic Labs, and Reflection AI. Zhan is set to pursue an unconventional approach by providing $30 million in funding to startups at the seed stage. He believes that the venture capital landscape is evolving, necessitating firms to make significant investments very early on.
At the age of 29, Brian Zhan, known for his “nerdy investing” philosophy, has already backed prominent AI companies that are now valued in the billions. After departing from CRV, a Silicon Valley VC firm, Zhan recently teamed up with veteran investor Max Gazor at Striker Venture Partners. Together, they aim to disrupt traditional venture capital practices with a $165 million fund dedicated to making substantial seed investments in emerging AI startups.
“We are committed to backing only 10 companies per fund and are prepared to offer funding up to $30 million,” Zhan stated. He emphasised the importance of strong conviction in such investments. While $30 million is typically raised in later funding rounds post achieving product-market fit, Zhan sees a shift in VC dynamics that demands early and bold financial commitments.
Zhan highlighted the trend of seed-stage investments occurring at increasingly earlier stages. He pointed out that modern seed rounds often involve youthful founders with innovative concepts. With a background in computer science from Northwestern University and experience as a code writer at Facebook, Zhan represents a changing landscape in venture capital where technical expertise is valued over traditional business backgrounds.
Reflecting on his journey into angel investing and subsequently transitioning to a full-time VC role at CRV, Zhan emphasised the importance of recognising promising founders even at the seed stage. His success story includes Reflection AI, which he supported during its initial stages despite scepticism from other investors. This investment paid off when Reflection AI recently secured funding valuing the company at $8 billion.
Zhan’s partnership with Gazor is driven by their shared passion for delving into cutting-edge AI research and identifying groundbreaking ideas within the industry. Their meticulous approach involves extensive research before engaging with startup founders. Gazor praised Zhan’s ability to connect with founders and predicted a bright future for him in the VC space.
Zhan’s enthusiasm lies in supporting founders leveraging AI for scientific advancements, such as William Fedus of Periodic Labs. He envisions AI revolutionising scientific discovery processes and foresees it becoming as influential as robotics in the future.