DIRTY HANDS
Ex-founder turned early-stage investor. I back founders who get their hands dirty turning frontier technology into products the world actually uses.
Optimism, with dirt under its nails.
I'm Yikai — an early-stage investor and former startup operator, now an investor in Lighthouse Founders Fund (L2F): a fund backed by the founders and tech entrepreneurs behind Kuaishou, Bilibili, Didi, Transsion and Meituan, investing in AI globally. Think of us as a China version of Founders Fund.
Before investing, I spent several years on the operating side, most recently helping build Pixocial into an AI app company with ~$100M ARR. Before that, over a decade in early-stage venture capital.
I've sat on both sides of the table. I know what it costs to build, and how early the future looks like a toy. That's why I invest the way I build: early, hands-on, and long-term optimistic.
Where I spend my time.
AI Applications.
Models are becoming commodities; products are not. I back founders turning AI into things people use and love every day — creative tools, new interfaces, companions, and the software layers in between.
Frontier Tech.
Hard technology that moves the physical world — dexterous hands, embodied AI, autonomous driving. Slower to build, harder to copy, worth the wait.
Builder first. Investor by conviction.
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2025 — NowInvestor, Lighthouse Founders Fund (L2F) · Shenzhen / Global
A founders-backed early-stage fund investing in AI globally — an $80M main fund with a ~$200M side pocket for larger opportunities. 30+ portfolio companies across the US and China.
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2024 — 2025Operator, Pixocial · GenAI applications
Joined the operating side of a GenAI startup and helped build it into an AI app company with ~$100M ARR.
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Previously10+ years in early-stage VC
Backed early-stage companies across AI and enterprise software from their earliest days.