What AME Cloud Ventures does

AME Cloud Ventures is a Palo Alto-based venture capital firm founded in 2012 by Jerry Yang, co-founder of Yahoo!. The firm invests from seed through later stage in technology-heavy companies that gather or create unique data across the full data stack — from infrastructure to applications, mobile, and sensors. Its thesis, articulated since founding, is that accurate, actionable data will be a primary life-blood of the future economy (the firm's name, 'Ame' or 'ah-may,' means 'rain' in Japanese).

The firm is led by Founding Partner Jerry Yang, Managing Director Jeff Chung (joined 2013, previously at Silver Lake), Principal Wretch Chien (joined 2014, Stanford MBA, founder of wretch.cc), Venture Partner Nick Adams (joined 2012, Imperial College), and Operations Manager Cathy Luu (formerly of Yahoo!). Notable portfolio companies span data infrastructure, biotech, robotics, quantum computing, and aerospace — including Nervana Systems, Freenome, Elementum, Synthego, Rigetti Quantum Computing, Savioke, Capella Space, Accion Systems, Canvas Technology, MegaBots, and Vicarious Surgical. Recent activity (2025-2026) has skewed heavily toward AI-native companies: Quill, LuminosAI, Flint, Hepta, and ZaiNar (which reached a $1B+ valuation).

AME's revenue model is standard venture capital economics — management fees on committed capital plus carried interest on realized returns — though neither AUM nor fund vintages are publicly disclosed. The firm differentiates through Jerry Yang's brand and direct Asia/China corridor (via board seats at Alibaba and Workday and his history building Yahoo! Japan/Alibaba relationships), and through a tier-1 co-investor syndicate that includes Benchmark, NEA, Khosla, Accel, Index, Menlo, and others. AME explicitly prefers network-referred deal flow and operates with a small, founder-led team.

Name

AME Cloud Ventures

Legal name

AME Cloud Ventures

Website

https://amecloudventures.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

AME Cloud Ventures is a Palo Alto-based venture capital firm founded in 2012 by Yahoo! co-founder Jerry Yang, investing from seed to later stage in technology-heavy companies building data infrastructure, AI, and biotech. It serves entrepreneurs through capital and an Asia-tilted operator network.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Venture Capital

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940), All Other Financial Investment Activities (52399)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Impact / ESG Venture Capital (FSANAAAG)

Keywords

• Venture capital investing
• Seed stage funding
• Data infrastructure investment
• Later stage equity
• Technology venture funding

Headquarters

HQ city

Palo Alto

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

AME Cloud Ventures is a venture capital firm that invests seed to later-stage equity into technology-heavy companies building infrastructure and value chains around data, spanning every stage of the data stack — from infrastructure to applications, mobile, and sensors. Alongside capital, the firm provides portfolio companies with operational and business experience, mentor networks, and international partnerships (with particular depth in China and Asia) drawn from founding partner Jerry Yang's background as co-founder of Yahoo!.

Product overview

AME Cloud Ventures is a venture capital firm led by Jerry Yang, co-founder of Yahoo!. The firm focuses on seed to later stage companies building infrastructure and value chains around data, investing in technology-heavy companies that gather or create unique data at every stage of the data stack — from infrastructure to applications, mobile, and sensors. AME provides investment capital along with operational experience, business support, networks of mentors, and international partners, particularly in China. As a VC firm, AME does not offer a traditional product; its 'offering' is venture investment and support for entrepreneurs building data-driven companies.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Venture Capital Investment (seed-to-later-stage) Equity capital and operational support provided by AME Cloud Ventures to technology-heavy startups building infrastructure and value chains around data, spanning infrastructure, applications, mobile, and sensors across seed and later stages. The offering is targeted at technical founders and is supplemented by mentor networks and international partnerships, particularly in China and Asia.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Data Collective (DCVC): DCVC is a venture firm that invests in seed-to-growth stage companies building deep-tech, data-driven infrastructure and applications — the closest direct competitor to AME Cloud Ventures in the 'data stack' thematic.
• Lux Capital: Lux Capital invests in seed-to-growth stage companies at the intersection of science, technology, and data — a directly comparable thesis to AME's focus on data infrastructure, sensors, and frontier computing.
• Bloomberg Beta: Bloomberg Beta is an early-stage venture firm focused on data-driven enterprise and AI startups — a directly comparable thesis to AME, and a documented co-investor in LuminosAI alongside AME.

Broad incumbents

• Khosla Ventures: Khosla Ventures is a large, established venture firm with deep exposure to data, AI, and frontier tech seed and growth investments, frequently co-investing with AME and serving as a comparable institutional capital pool.
• Andreessen Horowitz (a16z): a16z is a broad incumbent venture firm with significant data infrastructure and AI investing, often syndicating with AME. It shares the same 'data stack' macro thesis but operates at a much larger AUM.
• Sequoia Capital: Sequoia is a top-tier incumbent venture firm that invests in data, AI, and frontier tech at seed through growth, frequently co-investing alongside AME in portfolio companies such as Zoom and Wish.
• NEA (New Enterprise Associates): NEA is a long-established venture firm with extensive data and AI infrastructure exposure, and is a repeat co-investor in AME-backed portfolio companies.
• Benchmark: Benchmark is a top-tier seed and early-stage venture firm that frequently co-invests with AME in data and frontier-tech deals, serving as a benchmark for early-stage deal economics and brand.
• Greylock Partners: Greylock is a well-known venture firm investing in seed-to-growth data, cloud, and AI companies — directly overlapping with AME's mandate and serving as a comparable syndicate partner.
• GGV Capital: GGV Capital is a global venture firm with strong US–China cross-border investing capabilities, comparable to AME's US–Asia orientation and a repeat co-investor in AME portfolio companies.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/AMECloudVC
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ame-cloud-ventures
• Facebookfacebook.com/AME-Cloud-Ventures-127912004058296

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments362 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about AME Cloud Ventures