Eastlink Capital

Eastlink Capital Research Investment Thesis Eastlink Capital is a specialized early-stage venture capital firm focused on identifying and backing bold founders building the next generation of data and AI infrastructure. Founded in 2013 and led by Steven Xi, a veteran investor with 20+ years of experience in enterprise technology, the firm differentiates itself through deep technical expertise, domain knowledge in infrastructure and data platforms, and a proven track record of helping portfolio companies achieve outsized success. The firm's core belief is that the most valuable companies are built on modern infrastructure and data platforms that serve as foundational layers for the broader technology ecosystem. They seek mission-driven, technical founders who are solving critical problems in massive markets with unique technology approaches. Sector Focus Eastlink Capital focuses primarily on two complementary sectors: Data & AI Infrastructure: Real-time data platforms and streaming infrastructure Database systems and data warehouses Machine learning infrastructure and AI tooling Data pipeline and ETL platforms Analytics and observability platforms Cloud optimization and infrastructure management Enterprise Infrastructure & Cloud Native: DevOps, CI/CD, and deployment tools Observability and monitoring solutions Security and compliance tooling Cloud-native applications and platforms Open-source infrastructure projects The firm explicitly targets the intersection of data, AI, and cloud infrastructure, recognizing that these layers are becoming increasingly critical as enterprises modernize their technology stacks. Stage Focus Eastlink specializes in early-stage investing from Pre-Seed through Series B, with the strongest conviction at Seed and Series A stages. The team identifies visionary founders early and maintains long-term partnerships through subsequent funding rounds. Pre-Seed: $250K-$1M for founding teams with exceptional technical vision Seed: $1M-$5M for teams with early product traction and initial customers Series A: $5M-$15M for companies achieving product-market fit Series B: Selective follow-on investments for exceptional performers Check Size Typical investment range: $250,000 - $5,000,000 across all stages Pre-Seed: $250K-$1M Seed: $1M-$5M Series A: $5M-$15M (as documented) Target ownership: 10-20% depending on stage Lead Tendency Eastlink operates as a lead and follow investor depending on the opportunity. The firm is comfortable leading seed-stage rounds where they have conviction in the founders and technology, but also participates selectively in larger rounds led by institutional capital. Their approach emphasizes being an active, engaged investor rather than a passive check writer. Recent Activity & Fund Status Fund II Status: Actively deploying (Fund II closed at ~$200M+ AUM) Recent Notable Investments (2025-2026): Genmo: AI video generation platform with open-source model Mochi 1 Vellum: Developer platform for building LLM applications BenchFlow: Open-source benchmark hub for AI production Continued investments in emerging AI infrastructure companies Portfolio Exits & Wins: Seraphic Security: Acquired by CrowdStrike (January 2026) Databricks: Now valued at $130B+ (as of November 2025) Uber: IPO MobileIron: IPO, later acquired by Ivanti Evernote: Acquired by Bending Spoons TigerGraph: Successful exit Sensely: Acquired by Mediktor Lavo Life Sciences: Exited SingleStore: Successful exit The firm demonstrates strong conviction in infrastructure investments with multiple unicorn-scale outcomes (Databricks, Uber) and successful exits across portfolio. Portfolio Highlights Fund II Core Investments (30+ companies): Databricks - Data & AI platform, now valued at $130B+ Modal Labs - Serverless compute for ML and parallel jobs MotherDuck - Serverless DuckDB analytics platform StreamNative - Apache Pulsar-based data streaming Vellum - LLM application development platform Omnistrate - Cloud platform for SaaS-ification Genmo - AI video generation Exostellar - Cloud cost optimization via AI Iomete - Unified data infrastructure BenchFlow - AI/ML benchmark infrastructure Cloudanix - Multi-cloud security monitoring Lavo Life Sciences - AI-driven drug simulation Enso - No-code data ELT automation Secure3 - Web3 smart contract auditing PuppyGraph - Cloud-native data analytics engine Fund I Notable Exits: Uber (IPO) - Transportation network MobileIron (IPO) - Enterprise mobile management Evernote - Productivity platform TigerGraph - Graph analytics Webiny - Serverless development platform InsightFinder - IT operations intelligence Team Steven Xi - Founding Managing Partner Co-founder and Managing Partner since 2013 20+ years of investment experience in enterprise technology Previous roles: Managing Director at Riverwood Capital (2007-2011), founding investor in Databricks, Uber, MobileIron Extensive experience with US-Asia cross-border investments Deep technical background in infrastructure and data systems Eric Ye - Partner Specialist in cloud-native infrastructure investment Founding partner at Eminence Ventures (enterprise SaaS focus) Former CTO & SVP Technology at Ctrip (NASDAQ: TCOM) 15+ years in enterprise software and cloud infrastructure Background: Principal engineer roles at eBay and Yahoo Jun Wang - Venture Partner Senior Silicon Valley tech executive Built and led global engineering teams at Twitter Previous: Product management and data science at fintech startup 5 years managing analytics and data science at Google (Maps, AdWords, Payments) Started career in risk management at HSBC Stephanie Wang - Venture Partner Staff Software Engineer at MongoDB (Atlas Data Federation, Online Archive) Founding Engineer at MotherDuck (portfolio company) Senior Software Engineer at Google (BigQuery, developer tooling) Strong track record in scalable data infrastructure Speaker at QCon and JavaLand conferences Candice Zihan Xie - Investor Data Engineer background in AI/livestream analytics Technical Recruiter specializing in AI and quantitative finance Bachelor's from Wellesley College (Mathematics, Computer Science) Cross-registered at MIT, studied at Oxford and Fudan University Investment Values & Philosophy Intellectual Honesty: Cornerstone of culture - authentic, factual decision making Do The Right Thing: Back ethical, mission-driven founders committed to positive impact Teamwork: Deep partnership approach - loyal long-term partners, not passive capital Execution Excellence: Seek ambitious founders solving critical problems with strong execution skills Technical Depth: Founders valued for unique technologies, deep domain expertise, and technical rigor Founder Preferences Eastlink explicitly values: Technical Founders: Deep domain expertise in infrastructure, data systems, or cloud technology Mission-Driven: Founders committed to building generational infrastructure Execution Track Record: Teams who have shipped products and built at scale System Thinkers: Founders who understand the broader ecosystem and how pieces fit together US-Asia Connections: Particular strength in helping founders navigate cross-border opportunities Geographic Focus Primary: US (Silicon Valley, Bay Area, particularly Menlo Park headquarters) Strong: US East Coast (NYC, Boston tech corridors) Strong International: Asia (China, India, Singapore) due to Steven Xi's extensive Asia experience Secondary: Europe (select investments in UK, Germany) The firm has deep expertise and network in US-Asia cross-border investments, helping portfolio companies navigate expansion and fundraising across regions. Support & Value-Add Beyond Capital Eastlink emphasizes that value extends far beyond capital: Introductions: Corporate partnerships, customer connections, strategic investors Go-to-Market Strategy: Direct support in product strategy and enterprise GTM Recruiting: Help building technical and management teams Cross-Border Support: Leveraging relationships in Asia for expansion, hiring, and fundraising Product & Technical: Partners bring direct infrastructure expertise to advise on technical decisions Board Support: Active board participation from invested founders