Young and professional investment team
Monad Ventures has an energetic, stable, young yet experienced investment team, allowing us to understand emerging business models better and seize new investment opportunities. Monad Team always pays special attention to voices from new-generation business leaders in enterprise software and technological innovation. We wholeheartedly offer them exceptional modular post-investment services.
We always pay attention to voices from new-generation business leaders and provide top-notch post-investment support.
Norah Tian
Managing Partner
Norah founded Monad Ventures in 2015. Since then, Monad has invested in approx. 100 early-stage startups, including NewSQL distributed HTAP database provider PingCAP, internet insurance platform Waterdrop, AI customer service SaaS Leyan Tech, industrial & manufacturing parallel robots Robot Phoenix, cloud native data intelligence platform DEEPEXI, DTC e-commerce apparel brand Cider, RPA software platform ShadowBot, and online collaboration office suite Shimo. So far, Norah has supported 100+ startups and many have successfully exited.
As the founding partner of Monad, Norah was named "Venture Capital 100" and "Female Venture Capitalists 20" by Forbes China, "2021 Best Early-Stage Investors TOP 50" by China Venture, "2022 Female Venture Capitalists 50" and "China F40 Young Investors" by Zero2IPO, "2022 Global Outstanding Chinese Power 100 Awards", "2021 36 Venture Capitalists Under 36" and "2021 Venture Capitalist in Enterprise Service Market TOP20" by 36Kr, and 2021 Best Female Investors TOP30 by CyZone, etc.
In 2013-2014, Norah worked at CITIC Capital and participated in late-stage equity investments and buyouts.
In 2009-2013, Norah was Associate Director of the Investment Banking Division at UBS Hong Kong. As a core team member, she participated in many Chinese enterprises' overseas IPO (via red-chip listing or VIE structure) as well as Chinese enterprises' overseas high yield bond issuance.
Norah holds a Bachelor's Degree in Economics and Statistics from University College London.
As the founding partner of Monad, Norah was named "Venture Capital 100" and "Female Venture Capitalists 20" by Forbes China, "2021 Best Early-Stage Investors TOP 50" by China Venture, "2022 Female Venture Capitalists 50" and "China F40 Young Investors" by Zero2IPO, "2022 Global Outstanding Chinese Power 100 Awards", "2021 36 Venture Capitalists Under 36" and "2021 Venture Capitalist in Enterprise Service Market TOP20" by 36Kr, and 2021 Best Female Investors TOP30 by CyZone, etc.
In 2013-2014, Norah worked at CITIC Capital and participated in late-stage equity investments and buyouts.
In 2009-2013, Norah was Associate Director of the Investment Banking Division at UBS Hong Kong. As a core team member, she participated in many Chinese enterprises' overseas IPO (via red-chip listing or VIE structure) as well as Chinese enterprises' overseas high yield bond issuance.
Norah holds a Bachelor's Degree in Economics and Statistics from University College London.
Max Xu
Partner
Max joined Monad Ventures in 2015 and has completed 40+ investments to date. Focused on investing in Application SaaS, globalization of Chinese software and ecosystem opportunities, Max led investments in Unitree, D5 Render, CoCoPIE, and MingJianYun, etc. He also supports investment in DEEPEXI, Shimo, and Xinlue, etc.
Prior to joining Monad, Max was an Investment Analyst at Fortune VC and participated in projects' investment and post-investment, including ATRenew and JollyChic.
Max holds Dual Bachelor's Degree from Zhejiang University.
Prior to joining Monad, Max was an Investment Analyst at Fortune VC and participated in projects' investment and post-investment, including ATRenew and JollyChic.
Max holds Dual Bachelor's Degree from Zhejiang University.
Ethan Li
Venture Partner
Ethan joined Monad Ventures in 2022. Before joining Monad Ventures, he was a serial entrepreneur who founded FClassroom, which completed six rounds of financing in five years and was acquired by ByteDance in 2019. He also served as CEO of ByteDance's toG/toB business unit at Dali Education (ByteDance's standalone education technology brand for the Chinese market) after the acquisition.
Ethan holds degrees in Quantitative Management from Duke University, Computer Science from the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Valar EMBA. He has been awarded the Powell Fellowship and the Zhang Shousheng Scholarship, among other honors. In addition, Ethan was named one of China's Top 50 AI Innovators and listed on the "Fast Company" of Business Innovators.
Regarding social welfare activities, Ethan currently serves as the Secretary-General at GASA.
Ethan holds degrees in Quantitative Management from Duke University, Computer Science from the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Valar EMBA. He has been awarded the Powell Fellowship and the Zhang Shousheng Scholarship, among other honors. In addition, Ethan was named one of China's Top 50 AI Innovators and listed on the "Fast Company" of Business Innovators.
Regarding social welfare activities, Ethan currently serves as the Secretary-General at GASA.
Emily Yu
Partner
Emily first joined Monad Ventures in 2015, then she worked at Plug & Play HQ in Silicon Valley. Emily rejoined Monad in 2018.
Emily is skilled in capturing systematic opportunities and making non-consensus judgments through in-depth research. She led Monad's investments in ShadowBot, Flomesh, and SphereEx, etc.
Emily holds a Bachelor's Degree from University of British Columbia.
Emily is skilled in capturing systematic opportunities and making non-consensus judgments through in-depth research. She led Monad's investments in ShadowBot, Flomesh, and SphereEx, etc.
Emily holds a Bachelor's Degree from University of British Columbia.
Charles Chen
VP
Charles joined Monad Ventures in 2024. Now he is focusing on investment and incubation in the fields of smart hardware, globalized products, and overseas expansion. Before joining Monad Ventures,Charles held positions in the Consumer Investment Department of Xiaohongshu, the Consumer Group of Hillhouse Ventures, and the Brand Management Department of Procter & Gamble China. led/participated in investments in projects such as Grandpa Technology, Qianzhi, and Yile, as well as post-investment management in projects like Juzi Biosciences.During his bachelor years, Charles ventured into entrepreneurship in the hardware sector, introducing customized headphones to the Chinese market and achieving a leading market share of over 80% domestically. From 0 to 1, he built a top-tier brand in the industry, realizing over ten million annual revenue for a single brand.Charles holds a Master's degree in Architectural Asset Management from University College London.
Darren Li
Senior Associate
Darren joined Monad Ventures in 2023. Now he is focusing on investment strategy, industry, and technology research in the generative artificial intelligence, field, as well as talent mapping for key industries overseas.Previously, he worked in the strategic investment department of Xiaohongshu, where he was responsible for overseas investments, focusing on artificial intelligence, TMT, and frontier technology sectors.Darren holds a Juris Doctor and Master of Laws from Peking University, a Master's degree in Data Science Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and a Bachelor's degree in Economics from Central South University.
Esther Yi
Senior Associate
Esther joined Monad Ventures in 2023. Now she is focusing on investments and research in AI, smart hardware, and related fields. Meanwhile, she actively participates in post-investment management for portfolios.Previously, she worked at GCP（GLP Capital Partners）, where she co-founded StarRock Ventures and Alpha Incubator with the team, responsible for investments and incubation in going-global and the AI sector. Projects she invested in and incubated include Shopvidi and Xiyunda. She gained extensive experience in AI and overseas industry investment and incubation when working at GCP.Esther also engaged in entrepreneurship at Wattah, a Southeast Asian shared power battery company in Singapore, where she handled operations, business development, and fundraising, gaining rich experience in entrepreneurship and overseas localization.Esther holds a Bachelor's degree in Accounting from Tongji University and a Master's degree in Quantitative Finance from the National University of Singapore.