Connie Chan

General Partner (former) at Andreessen Horowitz

Reviewed Updated Mar 20, 2026

This profile is AI-generated. If you spot an error, please help us fix it by sharing a URL to the correct information.

Former General Partner at a16z (2011-2024), first person promoted internally to GP after 9 years of only hiring founders/CEOs. Expert on Chinese consumer tech and its US implications. Portfolio (11 verified) focuses on consumer, e-commerce (Whatnot, Pinterest, Cider), and community platforms. Checks $1M-$50M at seed/Series A. Customer-first investing approach; recently stepped back to develop new theses.

Location San Francisco, CA

Check Size $1M-$50M

Last Verified Investment Glorify (~2022) — ~2022

Social @conniechan LinkedIn

Stage Focus

seed series-a series-b

Sector Focus

consumer e-commerce livestream-commerce climate community-platforms

Background

Connie Chan is a General Partner at Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), where she focused on consumer technology investments ¹. She joined the firm in 2011 as a deal partner and was promoted to General Partner in July 2018 — the first person ever promoted internally to GP at a16z, breaking the firm’s nine-year practice of hiring only former CEOs and founders for the role ²³.

Prior to a16z, Chan worked at HP leading webOS efforts in China and started her career as a private equity investor at Elevation Partners, investing in media and entertainment ³. She was mentored at a16z by General Partner Jeff Jordan and partner Margit Wennmachers ⁴.

In January 2024, after 12 years at a16z, Chan announced she was stepping back from the firm to develop new theses for her next chapter, while maintaining all her board seats and portfolio company involvement ⁴. She stated: “There comes a point after 12 years where you either double down or figure something else out” ⁴.

Chan is known across Silicon Valley as the leading authority on Chinese consumer technology and its implications for U.S. markets ¹³. She won David Brooks’ Sidney Award for her post “When One App Rules Them All: The Case of WeChat and Mobile in China” ¹.

Stated Thesis

(Self-reported: These represent what Chan says publicly about her investing approach. See Inferred Thesis for analysis of actual investment behavior.)

Chan publicly describes her focus as investing in “early-stage consumer technology companies, including those shaping the future of how people will shop, discover new products, and share them with our friends” ⁵.

On her research process, she has stated: “Before I invest in any company, I try to put myself in the shoes of their target customers” ⁵. Ben Horowitz has described her approach as distinct from other VCs: “While the rest of us described deals beginning with the entrepreneur and the size of the opportunity, Connie always saw things from the target customer point of view first then worked her way back to the entrepreneur and the market size” ¹.

On spotting trends, Chan has said: “It’s my job to spot trends and future market disruptors before anyone else, and I look at consumer internet and behavior trends bubbling up in Asia to inform my investing areas here in the US” ⁵.

On commerce, Chan believes “short-form videos will revolutionize commerce by moving from a discovery tool to an actual purchase tool. In the US, we’ve barely scratched the surface of the potential” ⁵.

Inferred Thesis

The analysis below is based on 11 verified investments attributed to Chan from a16z announcements, press coverage, and her personal statements ¹⁴⁶⁷⁸⁹¹⁰.

Sector concentration (based on 11 verified investments): - E-commerce / livestream commerce: 3 of 11 (27%) — Whatnot, Cider, Pinterest - Community / social platforms: 3 of 11 (27%) — Glorify, NewNew, Lime (social mobility) - Creator economy / tools: 2 of 11 (18%) — Beacons, Reface.ai - Audio / events: 2 of 11 (18%) — Knowable, Run the World - Climate tech: 1 of 11 (9%) — KoBold Metals

Key patterns:

Consumer-only portfolio: All 11 verified investments are consumer-facing or consumer-adjacent. Zero enterprise or infrastructure investments. This is the clearest signal in her portfolio.
Commerce-heavy thesis: Nearly a third of her portfolio involves commerce or shopping, consistent with her stated belief that short-form video and livestream shopping will transform retail.
Asia-informed investing: Several investments (Whatnot, Cider) reflect trends that first emerged in Asian markets — livestream commerce and fast-fashion e-commerce — before being adapted for U.S. consumers.
Stage distribution: Primarily seed and Series A investments. Her first GP deal was co-leading KoBold Metals’ Series A in 2019 ⁴⁸. She led Whatnot’s Series A in March 2021 ⁶.
Climate tech outlier: KoBold Metals is a notable departure from her consumer thesis. This was her first deal as GP and represents an unusual bet on climate/mining technology ⁴⁸.
Board involvement: Active board member on Cider, Whatnot, and KoBold Metals, continuing post-departure from a16z ¹⁴.

Notable gaps: Despite her deep expertise in Chinese consumer tech, no investments in China-based companies appear in the verified portfolio. Her expertise appears to be used as an analytical lens for U.S. investments rather than for direct China investing.

Portfolio

Company	Stage	Year	Sector	Status	Source
Pinterest	Early	~2012	E-commerce/Social	Public (NYSE: PINS)	¹
Lime	Early	~2017	Mobility/Consumer	Active	¹
KoBold Metals	Series A	2019	Climate Tech	Active	⁸
Run the World	Seed	2020	Events/Consumer	Active	⁷
Knowable	Seed	~2020	Audio/Education	Active	⁹
Whatnot	Series A	2021	Livestream Commerce	Active	⁶
Cider	Series A	~2021	Fashion E-commerce	Active	¹⁰
Beacons	–	~2021	Creator Economy	Active	¹
NewNew	–	~2021	Social/Community	Active	¹
Reface.ai	–	~2021	AI/Consumer	Active	¹
Glorify	–	~2022	Community/Faith	Active	⁴

This table represents 11 verified investments. Chan’s full portfolio at a16z likely includes additional investments where she contributed to sourcing and diligence but was not the named lead. Years marked with ~ are estimates based on available information.

In Their Own Words

“I invest in early-stage consumer technology companies, including those shaping the future of how people will shop, discover new products, and share them with our friends.” — Connie Chan, Retail Brew interview, December 2022 ⁵.

“Before I invest in any company, I try to put myself in the shoes of their target customers.” — Connie Chan, Retail Brew interview, December 2022 ⁵.

“It’s my job to spot trends and future market disruptors before anyone else, and I look at consumer internet and behavior trends bubbling up in Asia to inform my investing areas here in the US.” — Connie Chan, Retail Brew interview, December 2022 ⁵.

“I love being a strategy partner to the companies I invest in — especially helping them understand global trends and innovations that they could adapt for US customers.” — Connie Chan, Retail Brew interview, December 2022 ⁵.

“The platform delivers on entertainment and connection, and sellers are thrilled with the results. They’re building followings — which helps them continue to sell products, again and again.” — Connie Chan on Whatnot, a16z investment announcement, March 2021 ⁶.

What Founders Say

Grant LaFontaine, co-founder of Whatnot, has stated about Chan: “Connie has a unique characteristic that very few investors have. Rather than following VC hyped Twitter trends of the day, she has the unique ability to see what the future entails. Grant and I brought Connie as our first board member and we do not regret it. Connie’s valuable insight, product intuition & critical business has been a huge advantage for Whatnot” ¹¹.

Ben Horowitz, co-founder of a16z, noted that everyone connected with Chan — “from Ben Keighran, founder/CEO of Caffeine, to Chance the Rapper — came back with the same feedback: ‘Connie is the best’” ¹.