AME Cloud Ventures

Reviewed Updated Mar 25, 2026

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Location Palo Alto, CA
Founded 2012
Fund Size Personal capital (undisclosed; reported ~$500M)
Website https://www.amecloudventures.com
Stage Focus
seed series-a series-b growth
Sector Focus
data-infrastructure ai deep-tech biotech space robotics

Team

Jerry Yang Founding Partner
Jeff Chung Ame Managing Director

About

AME Cloud Ventures is a Palo Alto-based venture firm founded in 2012 by Jerry Yang, co-founder of Yahoo! 1. The firm is backed entirely by Yang’s personal capital rather than traditional limited partners 12. Yang has described its structure as: “There are no LPs — just me, myself and I” 1.

The name “AME” is an acronym formed from the names of Yang’s wife and children, and also borrows from the Japanese word ame (雨), meaning rain 13. As stated on the firm’s website: “‘Ame’, pronounced ‘ah-may’, means rain in Japanese — a reflection on our belief that accurate, actionable data will be a major life-blood in the future economy.” 3 Yang has explained the name’s philosophy with: “Without rain, there is no life.” 1

AME Cloud Ventures began as an angel-style vehicle in 2012. By March 2013, Yang had made roughly two dozen early investments, operating with a single associate (Nick Adams) and investing checks of $100,000–$500,000 1. Over subsequent years the firm scaled into a more structured operation with a reported fund size of approximately $500 million — still drawn entirely from Yang’s personal capital 2.

The firm is headquartered in Midtown Palo Alto 3. Its team as listed on the firm website includes:

  • Jerry Yang, Founding Partner — co-founded Yahoo! in 1995; board member at Workday and Alibaba 3.
  • Jeff Chung, Managing Director — joined 2013; previously invested in growth-stage software and internet companies at Silver Lake; holds a BS from UC Berkeley and an MBA from Harvard Business School; board member at Savioke 34.
  • Wretch Chien, Principal — joined 2014; founded wretch.cc, Taiwan’s first major blogging platform (6 billion monthly page views before its Yahoo! acquisition); holds a Stanford MBA 3.
  • Nick Adams, Venture Partner — joined 2012; five years in China and India before AME; Masters in Engineering from Imperial College; stepped back from new investments in 2020 but remains with the firm 3.
  • Cathy Luu, Operations Manager — nine years at Yahoo! as Senior Executive Administrator to Yang before joining AME 3.

AME Cloud Ventures’ portfolio companies had collectively raised over $1.5 billion in the twelve months prior to the website’s last update 3. Tracxn reports the portfolio includes 17 unicorns, 15 IPOs, and 82 acquisitions as of 2025 5.

Stated Thesis

AME Cloud Ventures publicly focuses on “seed to later stage companies building infrastructure and value chains around data” 3. The firm specifically targets “technology heavy companies gathering or creating unique data at every stage of the data stack — from infrastructure all the way to applications, mobile, and sensors” 3.

Yang has articulated the founding premise as follows: “The main investing premise is the idea that devices are more and more network connected…The cloud has become the next-generation supercomputer, and the smartphone has provided the revolution to spur its use.” 1

The investment approach is widely described as an “anti-Yahoo playbook” with three core rules: (1) avoid consumer internet, (2) invest at the earliest stages, and (3) back only data-driven businesses with deep science or technology 2. The firm also typically requires portfolio companies based outside Silicon Valley to relocate their headquarters to the Bay Area for hands-on support 2.

AME describes itself as bringing “a unique and genuine set of resources to its founding teams, from strong operational and business experience, to networks of amazing mentors and international partners, particularly China” 3.

On AI specifically, Yang has said: “I think the AI wave is coming…We’ve seen a few waves of technology, and with each one of these waves, [we] go through this hype cycle.” 6

Inferred Thesis

Based on 17 independently verified portfolio investments (out of 252–395 reported across various aggregators), the following patterns emerge. The sample is small (~5–7% of the reported total), so percentages should be treated as directional rather than definitive.

Sector breakdown (17 verified investments): - Deep tech / AI / data infrastructure: 5 of 17 (29%) — Nervana Systems, Rigetti Computing, Zoom, Savioke, Flint - Biotech / life sciences: 5 of 17 (29%) — Synthego, Recursion Pharmaceuticals, Freenome, Cartography Biosciences, Mammoth Biosciences - Space / aerospace / autonomous vehicles: 3 of 17 (18%) — Planet Labs, Capella Space, Embark Trucks - Robotics: 1 of 17 (6%) — Savioke - E-commerce / consumer: 1 of 17 (6%) — Wish - EdTech: 1 of 17 (6%) — Flint - Content / productivity: 2 of 17 (12%) — Evernote, Wattpad

Note: Some companies span multiple sectors; classification reflects primary sector. Numbers sum to more than 100% because Savioke appears in both AI/data and robotics.

Pattern diverging from stated thesis: Despite the stated “avoid consumer internet” rule, AME’s early portfolio (2012–2014) included consumer-facing investments such as Wish, Evernote, Wattpad, and Tango — all listed on the firm’s website 3. This suggests the anti-consumer rule became more strictly applied after the fund matured, or that these early investments pre-date the formal codification of the three-rule framework.

Stage distribution: AME invests across the full spectrum from seed through Series B+. Verified investments include seed rounds (Capella Space 2016 3, Savioke 2014 4), Series A (Zoom 2013 8, Recursion 2016 9, Embark 2017 10, Flint 2025-11-06 7), Series B (Nervana 2015 11, Synthego 2017 12, Rigetti 2017 13), and later-stage follow-ons (Cartography Biosciences Series B 2025 14, Recursion Series C 2019 9). Typical check size: $1M–$10M 2.

Geographic focus: Predominantly US-based companies, concentrated in Silicon Valley. Yang’s Asia connections (particularly China via Alibaba) create some cross-Pacific deal flow, but the verified portfolio is predominantly US-headquartered.

Co-investor patterns: AME frequently co-invests with Data Collective (DCVC), Andreessen Horowitz, Spark Capital, Lux Capital, Google Ventures, and 8VC across multiple verified investments.

Deep-tech concentration: The portfolio’s biotech and space/aerospace weight is disproportionately high relative to the median Bay Area VC. This is consistent with the stated “data with deep science” mandate — Nervana (AI chips), Rigetti (quantum computing), Synthego (CRISPR), Cartography Biosciences (oncology AI), and Capella Space (SAR satellites) all represent capital-intensive hard-tech bets.

Note: This analysis is based on 17 of a reported 252+ investments (~7%). Patterns should not be considered definitive given the small sample.

Portfolio

Company Stage Year Sector Status
Zoom Series A (participated as one of the earliest institutional backers; $6M round included Qualcomm Ventures, Jerry Yang/AME Cloud Ventures, Maven Ventures, plus angels Subrah Iyar (WebEx founder), Dan Scheinman (former Cisco SVP/GC), and Bill Tai) 2013-01-28 Video communications Active (IPO 2019) 81621
Savioke Seed 2014 Delivery robotics Active 4
Nervana Systems Series A (participated; $20.5M round led by Data Collective/DCVC; Allen & Co., AME Cloud Ventures, Playground Global, CME Group, Draper Fisher Jurvetson (DFJ), Fuel Capital, Lux Capital, Omidyar Network also participated; brought total funding to $24.4M) 2015-06-04 AI / deep learning chips Acquired by Intel August 2016 (~$408M) 112223
Planet Labs Series B (participated as existing investor; $52M round led by Yuri Milner with Industry Ventures, Felicis Ventures, Lux Capital, and Ray Rothrock as new co-investors; existing investors DFJ, Capricorn, O’Reilly AlphaTech Ventures (OATV), Founders Fund, First Round Capital, Innovation Endeavors, Data Collective, and AME Cloud Ventures also participated; brought total funding to $65M) 2013-12-18 Satellite imagery Active (IPO 2021) 152425
Capella Space Seed 2016 SAR satellite imaging Acquired by IonQ 2025 3
Recursion Pharmaceuticals Series A 2016 AI drug discovery Active (IPO 2023) 9
Synthego Series B 2017 CRISPR / gene editing Active 12
Embark Trucks Series A 2017 Autonomous trucks Acquired by Applied Intuition 2023 10
Rigetti Computing Series A/B 2017 Quantum computing Active (IPO via SPAC 2022) 13
Freenome Early ~2016 Biotech / cancer diagnostics Active 3
Mammoth Biosciences Early ~2018 CRISPR biotech Active 2
Wish Early ~2013 E-commerce marketplace Active (IPO 2020) 3
Evernote Early ~2012 Productivity software Active 3
Wattpad Early ~2013 Content platform Acquired by Naver 2021 3
Tango Early ~2012 Video messaging Inactive 3
Cartography Biosciences Series B 2025-10-02 Oncology biotech Active 141718
Flint Series A 2025-11-06 AI / EdTech Active 71920

Note: Most early investments (2012–2014) lack confirmed round dates — years marked ~YYYY are inferred from company founding and fundraising timelines. This table represents approximately 7% of a reported 252+ investments; it is not a complete portfolio record.

In Their Own Words

On why he started AME Cloud Ventures (March 2013): “I feel like the thing I missed the most is what really early entrepreneurs were doing.” 1

On the fund’s unusual structure: “There are no LPs — just me, myself and I.” And: “I invest in things for the long term and have a long horizon and the flexibility.” 1

On the core investing thesis: “The main investing premise is the idea that devices are more and more network connected…The cloud has become the next-generation supercomputer, and the smartphone has provided the revolution to spur its use.” 1

On the fund’s name: “Without rain, there is no life.” 1

On his self-assessment as a new investor: “I’m not sure at all that I’m any good at this mentoring/investing business — that’s why I’m using my own money.” And: “I might not have better ideas, but I think my experience is unique and helpful [to entrepreneurs].” 1

On AI (January 2025): “I think the AI wave is coming…We’ve seen a few waves of technology, and with each one of these waves, [we] go through this hype cycle.” 6

On the broader data opportunity (firm website): “Jerry started AME Cloud Ventures with the belief that data, cloud, and hardware advances will create unprecedented opportunities for great companies to be built.” 3

What Founders Say

Eric Yuan, founder and CEO of Zoom (a portfolio company since 2013), said in a 2019 TechCrunch interview that early investors including AME Cloud Ventures “are all very, very helpful. Not only from a capital side but the most important value.” 16 Yuan credited AME Cloud Ventures as one of Zoom’s earliest institutional backers alongside Qualcomm Ventures in the $6 million Series A in 2013 8.

No additional independently sourced testimonials from AME Cloud Ventures portfolio founders were found at time of research.

Sources

  1. AllThingsD (Kara Swisher), “Jerry Yang Is Back (And Investing More Than Ever),” March 19, 2013. https://allthingsd.com/20130319/jerry-yang-is-back-and-investing-more-than-ever/↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩

  2. VCSheet, “AME Cloud Ventures — VC Fund Breakdown,” accessed March 2026. https://www.vcsheet.com/fund/ame-cloud-ventures↩↩↩↩↩↩

  3. AME Cloud Ventures website, accessed March 2026. https://www.amecloudventures.com/↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩

  4. TechCrunch, “Led By Ex-CEO of Willow Garage, Savioke Gets $2M From AME, Google Ventures To Build A Service Robot,” April 9, 2014. https://techcrunch.com/2014/04/09/led-by-ex-ceo-of-willow-garage-savioke-gets-2m-from-ame-google-ventures-to-build-a-service-robot/↩↩↩

  5. Tracxn, “AME Cloud Ventures — 2026 Investor Profile, Portfolio, Team & Investment Trends,” accessed March 2026. https://tracxn.com/d/venture-capital/ame-cloud-ventures/__wSbmvvuYrxfnvxCi0Ci26qj-e0bSOWZ2dStoQWZWGjE↩

  6. Yahoo Finance / Opening Bid podcast, “Yahoo co-founder Jerry Yang on AI: The wave is coming,” January 6, 2025. https://finance.yahoo.com/news/yahoo-co-founder-jerry-yang-on-ai-the-wave-is-coming-133019251.html↩↩

  7. AlleyWatch, “Flint Raises $15M to Make Personalized Education Accessible Without Increasing Teacher Workload,” November 6, 2025. https://alleywatch.com/2025/11/flint-ai-powered-personalized-adaptive-learning-k12-education-platform-sohan-choudhury/↩↩

  8. TechCrunch, “Zoom Raises $6M Series A, Launches Version 1.0 Of Its Radically Different Virtual Conferencing Tool,” January 28, 2013. https://techcrunch.com/2013/01/28/zoom-raises-6m-series-a-launches-version-1-0-of-its-radically-different-virtual-conferencing-tool/↩↩↩↩

  9. Business Wire, “Recursion Pharmaceuticals Raises $13M To Discover New Drugs Using Artificial Intelligence,” October 3, 2016. https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20161003005212/en/Recursion-Pharmaceuticals-Raises-13M-to-Discover-New-Drugs-Using-Artificial-Intelligence↩↩↩

  10. TechCrunch, “Self-driving truck startup Embark raises $15M, partners with Peterbilt,” July 18, 2017. https://techcrunch.com/2017/07/18/self-driving-truck-startup-embark-raises-15m-partners-with-peterbilt/↩↩

  11. Fortune, “Nervana Systems Brings Deep Learning to the Masses,” February 29, 2016. https://fortune.com/2016/02/29/nervana-deep-learning/↩↩

  12. GlobeNewswire, “Synthego Raises $41 Million in Series B Financing Led by 8VC to Advance CRISPR Genome Engineering,” January 4, 2017. https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2017/01/04/1228769/0/en/Synthego-Raises-41-Million-in-Series-B-Financing-Led-by-8VC-to-Advance-CRISPR-Genome-Engineering.html↩↩

  13. PR Newswire, “Rigetti Computing Raises $64 Million in Series A and B Funding, Led by Andreessen Horowitz and Vy Capital,” March 28, 2017. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/rigetti-computing-raises-64-million-in-series-a-and-b-funding-led-by-andreessen-horowitz-and-vy-capital-300430164.html↩↩

  14. VCNewsDaily, “Cartography Biosciences Inks $67M Series B,” October 2, 2025. https://vcnewsdaily.com/cartography-biosciences/venture-capital-funding/pnfvkmdnbv↩↩

  15. New Atlas, “Planet Labs raises $52 million for fleet of satellites,” December 18, 2013. https://newatlas.com/planet-labs-satellite-funding/30180/↩↩

  16. TechCrunch, “Under the hood on Zoom’s IPO, with founder and CEO Eric Yuan,” May 17, 2019. https://techcrunch.com/2019/05/17/under-the-hood-on-zooms-ipo-with-founder-and-ceo-eric-yuan/↩↩↩

  17. BusinessWire, “Cartography Secures $67 Million Series B Financing to Advance Differentiated Oncology Pipeline of Antibody-Based Therapies into the Clinic,” October 2, 2025. Accessed June 2026. https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20251002482177/en/Cartography-Secures-$67-Million-Series-B-Financing-to-Advance-Differentiated-Oncology-Pipeline-of-Antibody-Based-Therapies-into-the-Clinic — Confirms Pfizer-led $67M Series B with AME Cloud Ventures as participating existing investor; announcement date October 2, 2025. ↩

  18. FinSMEs, “Cartography Raises $67M in Series B Funding,” October 2, 2025. Accessed June 2026. https://www.finsmes.com/2025/10/cartography-raises-67m-in-series-b-funding.html — Independent confirmation of Series B amount, lead investor (Pfizer), and AME Cloud Ventures participation. ↩

  19. Yahoo Finance / AccessWire, “Flint Raises $15M Series A to Personalize Learning for the AI-Native Generation,” November 6, 2025. Accessed June 2026. https://finance.yahoo.com/news/flint-raises-15m-series-personalize-170000926.html — Confirms Series A announcement date of November 6, 2025; co-led by Basis Set Ventures and Patron; participants include USC Viterbi, AME Cloud Ventures, Afore Capital, and Y Combinator. ↩

  20. The AI Insider, “Flint Raises $15M Series A to Personalize Learning for the AI-Native Generation,” November 27, 2025. Accessed June 2026. https://theaiinsider.tech/2025/11/27/flint-raises-15m-series-15m-series-a-to-personalize-learning-for-the-ai-native-generation/ — Independent press confirmation of Flint’s $15M Series A with AME Cloud Ventures participation. ↩

  21. Vator.tv, “When Zoom was young: the early years,” March 26, 2020. Accessed July 2026. https://vator.tv/news/2020-03-26-when-zoom-was-young-the-early-years — Retrospective independently confirming Zoom’s $6M Series A closed January 2013 with Qualcomm Ventures, Jerry Yang, WebEx co-founder Subrah Iyar, and former Cisco SVP Dan Scheinman as participants. Complements 8 (contemporaneous TechCrunch primary press) and 16 (Eric Yuan CEO 2019 TechCrunch IPO interview crediting AME Cloud Ventures as an early institutional backer). Third-party public disclosures of Maven Ventures’ 200x return and Bill Tai’s participation are consistent across contemporaneous coverage. ↩

  22. Wikipedia, “Nervana Systems.” Accessed July 2026. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nervana_Systems — Confirms Nervana Systems’ Series A ($20.5M, June 2015) was led by Data Collective with participation from Allen & Company, AME Cloud Ventures, Playground Global, CME Group, Draper Fisher Jurvetson, Fuel Capital, Lux Capital, and Omidyar Network. Company founded 2014 in San Diego by CEO Naveen Rao, CTO Amir Khosrowshahi, and VP Algorithms Arjun Bansal; acquired by Intel August 9, 2016 for a reported ~$408M. ↩

  23. VentureBeat, “Deep learning startup Nervana raises $20.5M,” June 4, 2015. https://venturebeat.com/2015/06/04/deep-learning-startup-nervana-raises-20-5m/ — Contemporaneous tier-1 tech press primary source for the $20.5M Series A announcement dated June 4, 2015; article URL structure confirms the announcement date. AME Cloud Ventures explicitly named among Series A participants alongside Data Collective (lead), Allen & Company, Playground Global, CME Group, DFJ, Fuel Capital, Lux Capital, and Omidyar Network. ↩

  24. TechCrunch, “Planet Labs Raises $52 Million From Yuri Milner To Build The Biggest (Little) Flock Of Satellites,” December 18, 2013. Accessed July 2026. https://techcrunch.com/2013/12/18/planet-labs-52m-yuri-milner/ — Contemporaneous tier-1 tech press primary source confirming Planet Labs’ $52M Series B closed December 18, 2013, led by Yuri Milner with Industry Ventures, Felicis Ventures, Lux Capital, and Ray Rothrock as new co-investors. Explicitly names existing investors DFJ, Capricorn, O’Reilly AlphaTech Ventures (OATV), Founders Fund, First Round Capital, Innovation Endeavors, Data Collective, and AME Cloud Ventures. Brought total funding to $65M. ↩↩

  25. Business Wire, “Planet Labs Raises $52M Financing,” December 18, 2013. Accessed July 2026. https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20131218005375/en/Planet-Labs-Raises-52M-Financing — Planet Labs’ own primary press release announcing the $52M Series B closed December 18, 2013. Company-issued primary source complementing 15 (New Atlas contemporaneous press) and 24 (TechCrunch contemporaneous press). ↩