Jerry Yang
Founding Partner at AME Cloud Ventures
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Yahoo! co-founder running AME Cloud Ventures ($500M personal capital) investing $1M-$10M seed/Series B in data infrastructure, deep tech, biotech, and space. Follows 'anti-Yahoo playbook': avoids consumer; backs hard science over services.
Background
Jerry Chih-Yuan Yang is a Taiwanese-born American entrepreneur, investor, and co-founder of Yahoo! 12. Born on November 6, 1968, in Taipei, Taiwan, Yang’s father died when he was two 1. In 1978, his mother — a professor of English and drama — moved the family to San Jose, California, where extended family helped raise the boys while she taught English to other immigrants 1.
Yang earned a B.S. and M.S. in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University 12. While pursuing doctoral studies at Stanford in 1994, Yang and fellow student David Filo co-created “Jerry and David’s Guide to the World Wide Web,” an Internet directory that became Yahoo! Inc. in 1995 12.
Yang served in various roles at Yahoo!, including as CEO from June 2007 to January 2009 1. One of his most consequential decisions at Yahoo! was directing the 2005 purchase of a 40% stake in Alibaba Group for $1 billion plus Yahoo! China’s assets (valued at $700 million) — an investment that would prove to be worth tens of billions of dollars 1.
After leaving Yahoo!, Yang founded AME Cloud Ventures, a venture fund backed entirely by his personal capital rather than traditional limited partners 34. The fund has a reported size of approximately $500 million 4. AME Cloud Ventures is headquartered in Midtown Palo Alto 3.
Yang serves on the boards of Workday, Lenovo Group, and Alibaba Group 12. He is chair of The Stanford Board of Trustees 12. He is also a member of the Committee of 100, an organization of distinguished Chinese Americans 5.
Stated Thesis
AME Cloud Ventures publicly focuses on “seed to later stage companies building infrastructure and value chains around data” 3. The firm 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 started AME Cloud Ventures with the belief that “data, cloud, and hardware advances will create unprecedented opportunities for great companies to be built” 3.
The fund follows what has been described as an “anti-Yahoo playbook” — three strict rules: avoid consumer internet, invest at the earliest stages, and back only data-driven businesses with deep science or tech 4.
On AI, Yang has stated: “I think the AI wave is coming” and has reflected that “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 25 verified investments (out of 252 reported by Tracxn), the following patterns emerge:
Sector breakdown: - Data infrastructure/AI: 6 of 25 (24%) — Zoom, FiscalNote, Viz.ai, Nervana Systems, Vectra Networks, Freenome - Space/aerospace: 4 of 25 (16%) — Planet, Capella Space, Accion Systems, Astranis - Biotech/health: 4 of 25 (16%) — Freenome, Synthego, Mammoth Biosciences, Color - Robotics/hardware: 3 of 25 (12%) — Canvas Technology, MegaBots, Vicarious Surgical - Quantum computing: 1 of 25 (4%) — Rigetti Quantum Computing - Consumer/marketplace: 4 of 25 (16%) — Wish, Evernote, Wattpad, Tango - Fintech/crypto: 2 of 25 (8%) — Ripple, Lime - Other: 1 of 25 (4%) — Zipline
Stage distribution: AME Cloud Ventures invests across stages from seed to later rounds. The fund participated in Zoom’s $6 million Series A in 2013 and followed on in the $30 million Series C in 2015 7. Check sizes range from $1M to $10M with a sweet spot around $1M 4.
Geographic focus: Primarily US-based companies, with some cross-Pacific investments reflecting Yang’s Taiwanese-American background and Alibaba connections.
Notable patterns: - Deep-tech concentration: Unlike most consumer-internet investors, AME Cloud Ventures’ portfolio skews heavily toward hard science — space tech, quantum computing, biotech, and robotics. This is consistent with the stated “anti-Yahoo playbook.” - The consumer investments (Wish, Evernote, Wattpad) appear to be earlier investments that don’t match the later-stated thesis, suggesting a thesis evolution over time. - AME Cloud Ventures has achieved 17 unicorns, 15 IPOs, and 82 acquisitions across its portfolio 8.
Co-investor patterns: AME Cloud Ventures’ portfolio companies have raised follow-on financing from Benchmark Capital, Khosla Ventures, Accel Partners, and other top-tier firms 3.
Note: Only 25 of 252 reported investments could be independently verified (approximately 10%). The patterns above may not fully represent the portfolio.
Portfolio
| Company | Year | Stage | Sector | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zoom | 2013-01-28 | Series A ($6M; Qualcomm Ventures + Maven Ventures + Jerry Yang/AME Cloud Ventures; angels Subrah Iyar, Dan Scheinman, Bill Tai) | Video communications | Active (IPO 2019) | 7910 |
| Zoom | 2015 | Series C | Video communications | Active | 7 |
| Evernote | ~2012 | Early | Productivity | Active | 3 |
| Wish | ~2013 | Early | E-commerce marketplace | Active (IPO 2020) | 38 |
| Wattpad | ~2013 | Early | Content platform | Acquired | 3 |
| Tango | ~2012 | Early | Video messaging | Active | 3 |
| Planet Labs | 2013-12-18 | Series B (participated as existing investor; $52M round led by Yuri Milner; new co-investors Industry Ventures, Felicis Ventures, Lux Capital, Ray Rothrock; existing co-investors DFJ, Capricorn, OATV, Founders Fund, First Round, Innovation Endeavors, Data Collective) | Satellite imaging | Active (IPO 2021) | 381112 |
| Freenome | ~2016 | Early | Biotech/diagnostics | Active | 3 |
| Synthego | ~2016 | Early | Gene editing tools | Active | 3 |
| Rigetti Quantum Computing | ~2016 | Early | Quantum computing | Active | 3 |
| Capella Space | ~2016 | Early | Satellite radar | Active | 3 |
| Accion Systems | ~2015 | Early | Space propulsion | Active | 3 |
| Canvas Technology | ~2015 | Early | Warehouse robotics | Acquired by Amazon | 3 |
| MegaBots | ~2015 | Early | Robotics | Active | 3 |
| Vicarious Surgical | ~2016 | Early | Surgical robotics | Active (IPO via SPAC) | 3 |
| Nervana Systems | 2015-06-04 | Series A ($20.5M; Data Collective/DCVC led; Allen & Co., AME Cloud Ventures, Playground Global, CME Group, DFJ, Fuel Capital, Lux Capital, Omidyar Network participated) | AI/deep learning | Acquired by Intel Aug 2016 (~$408M) | 31314 |
| Vectra Networks | ~2014 | Early | AI cybersecurity | Active | 3 |
| Slack | ~2013 | Early | Enterprise messaging | Acquired by Salesforce | 8 |
| Okta | ~2014 | Early | Identity management | Active (IPO 2017) | 8 |
| Lime | ~2017 | Early | Micromobility | Active | 8 |
| Zymergen | ~2014 | Early | Biotech/materials | Active (IPO 2021) | 8 |
| Ripple | ~2015 | Early | Crypto/payments | Active | 4 |
| Astranis | ~2017 | Early | Satellite internet | Active | 4 |
| Color | ~2016 | Early | Health tech | Active | 4 |
| Viz.ai | ~2017 | Early | Medical AI | Active | 4 |
| FiscalNote | ~2016 | Early | GovTech/AI | Active (IPO via SPAC) | 4 |
| Mammoth Biosciences | ~2018 | Early | CRISPR/biotech | Active | 4 |
| Zipline | ~2016 | Early | Drone delivery | Active | 4 |
| Cartography Biosciences | 2025-10-02 | Series B (participated as existing; $67M; Pfizer led) | Oncology biotech | Active | 1516 |
| Flint | 2025-11-06 | Series A (participated; $15M; Basis Set Ventures + Patron co-led) | AI / EdTech | Active | 1718 |
Note: Most investment years are approximate (marked ~), inferred from company founding dates and known fundraising timelines. This table represents approximately 11% of 252 reported investments.
In Their Own Words
On his investment thesis: Yang started AME Cloud Ventures with the belief that “data, cloud, and hardware advances will create unprecedented opportunities for great companies to be built” 3.
On AI: “I think the AI wave is coming” 6. He has cautioned that “we’ve seen a few waves of technology, and with each one of these waves, [we] go through this hype cycle” 6.
On his approach, AME Cloud Ventures states that Jerry “enjoys meeting and learning from entrepreneurs with big ideas and deep tech” 3.
What Founders Say
Rob Solomon, a venture capitalist at Accel Partners, has described Yang as “a great founder, evangelist, strategist and mentor” who “created the blueprint for what is possible on the Internet” 1.
Note: This is a peer characterization rather than a portfolio founder testimonial. No independently sourced testimonials from AME Cloud Ventures portfolio founders were found.
Sources
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EBSCO Research Starters, “Jerry Yang | Biography,” accessed March 2026. https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/biography/jerry-yang↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩
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Stanford University School of Engineering, “Jerry Yang | Heroes,” accessed March 2026. https://engineering.stanford.edu/about/history/heroes/2013-heroes/jerry-yang↩↩↩↩↩
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AME Cloud Ventures website, accessed March 2026. https://www.amecloudventures.com/↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩
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VCSheet, “Jerry Yang (AME Cloud Ventures) / VC Breakdown & Contact,” accessed March 2026. https://www.vcsheet.com/who/jerry-yang-a↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩
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Committee of 100, “Jerry Yang,” accessed March 2026. https://www.committee100.org/members/jerryyang/↩
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Yahoo Finance, “Yahoo co-founder Jerry Yang on AI: The wave is coming,” accessed March 2026. https://finance.yahoo.com/news/yahoo-co-founder-jerry-yang-on-ai-the-wave-is-coming-133019251.html↩↩↩
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VCNewsDaily, “Zoom Raises $100M Series D Financing,” accessed March 2026. https://www.vcnewsdaily.com/zoom-video-communications/venture-capital-funding/dpxljlrhjl↩↩↩
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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↩↩↩↩↩↩↩
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TechCrunch, “Zoom Raises $6M Series A, Launches Version 1.0 Of Its Radically Different Virtual Conferencing Tool,” January 28, 2013. Accessed July 2026. https://techcrunch.com/2013/01/28/zoom-raises-6m-series-a-launches-version-1-0-of-its-radically-different-virtual-conferencing-tool/ — Contemporaneous tier-1 tech press primary source; confirms Zoom’s $6M Series A closed January 28, 2013 with Qualcomm Ventures, Jerry Yang, WebEx founder Subrah Iyar, and former Cisco SVP/GC Dan Scheinman. ↩
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TechCrunch, “Under the hood on Zoom’s IPO, with founder and CEO Eric Yuan,” May 17, 2019. Accessed July 2026. https://techcrunch.com/2019/05/17/under-the-hood-on-zooms-ipo-with-founder-and-ceo-eric-yuan/ — Eric Yuan (Zoom founder/CEO) directly credits AME Cloud Ventures as one of Zoom’s earliest institutional investors alongside Qualcomm Ventures in the 2013 Series A. First-party confirmation of AME Cloud Ventures participation via the fund entity (not merely Jerry Yang personally). ↩
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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 on 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, OATV, Founders Fund, First Round Capital, Innovation Endeavors, Data Collective, and AME Cloud Ventures. ↩
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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 company primary press release confirming $52M Series B on December 18, 2013 led by Yuri Milner. ↩
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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, DFJ, 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. ↩
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VentureBeat, “Deep learning startup Nervana raises $20.5M,” June 4, 2015. Accessed July 2026. 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 and multiple aggregator cross-references confirm 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. ↩
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BusinessWire, “Cartography Secures $67 Million Series B Financing to Advance Differentiated Oncology Pipeline of Antibody-Based Therapies into the Clinic,” October 2, 2025. Accessed July 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. ↩
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FinSMEs, “Cartography Raises $67M in Series B Funding,” October 2, 2025. Accessed July 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. ↩
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Yahoo Finance / AccessWire, “Flint Raises $15M Series A to Personalize Learning for the AI-Native Generation,” November 6, 2025. Accessed July 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. ↩
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The AI Insider, “Flint Raises $15M Series A to Personalize Learning for the AI-Native Generation,” November 27, 2025. Accessed July 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. ↩