What E15 VC does

E15 VC is a stage-agnostic, geographically agnostic venture capital firm founded in June 2017 by Philip Liang, a former MIT Media Lab MS engineer and entrepreneur who previously brought a company from Series B to a NYSE listing. The firm is headquartered in Hong Kong and operates as E15 Fund Advisors (HK) Limited, regulated by the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission under CE number BQI531. E15 invests globally in deep-tech founders building solutions across surgical robotics (Vicarious Surgical, Auris Health), therapeutics (Eikon Therapeutics, Caeli Vascular), supersonic aviation (Boom Supersonic), advanced manufacturing (Fluent Metal), and selected software verticals (Unmind, CelebrityAgent, SAMLabs).

The firm's core offering is a thesis-led investment platform that combines capital with hands-on post-investment support, including strategic guidance, network access for financing, staffing, and supply-chain assistance, milestone setting, and risk identification. Deal flow is generated through a website pitch-submission process, portfolio referrals, and the team's professional network. The team of approximately 8-10 people includes a COO (Sophia Thai, CFA/CPA, ex-CPP Investments/PwC), a Principal (Leo Liu), an Associate (Vi Ka Chaang, genomics/bioinformatics), a Business Development lead (Yuichi Shirayama, early SpaceX investor), a Partner (John Tsang, Hong Kong's longest-serving Financial Secretary), a Scientific Advisor (Yin Wu, Wellcome Trust clinician scientist at King's College London), and a Venture Partner (Ray Shu, ex-Point72 and Citadel).

E15 earns revenue through the traditional venture capital model of management fees on committed capital plus carried interest on successful portfolio exits. The firm does not publicly disclose fund size, AUM, or revenue. Geographic investment restrictions are explicit for defense, alcohol, gambling, and tobacco industries. Distribution is direct-to-founder with no intermediary channels, supported by content marketing through an insights blog and portfolio-company podcasts.

Name

E15 VC

Legal name

E15 Fund Advisors (HK) Limited

Website

https://e15vc.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

E15 VC is a Hong Kong-based, stage-agnostic deep-tech venture capital firm founded in 2017 that invests globally across surgical robotics, therapeutics, supersonic aviation, and advanced manufacturing, providing hands-on post-investment support to portfolio founders.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Venture Capital

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940), Other Financial Investment Activities (5239)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Sector-Focused Venture Capital (Vertical Specialists) (FSANAAAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Early-Stage Venture Capital (Series A/B) (FSANAAAB), Late-Stage Venture Capital (Series C+) (FSANAAAC)

Keywords

• Venture capital funding
• Deep tech investments
• Early stage funding
• Portfolio company support
• Stage agnostic investing

Headquarters

HQ city

Central

HQ country

Hong Kong SAR China

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Management Fees and Carry: Traditional VC revenue model consisting of management fees on committed capital and carried interest on fund returns from successful portfolio company exits

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

E15 VC is a stage-agnostic deep-tech venture capital firm that invests globally across early to late stages in entrepreneurs building innovative solutions in surgical robotics, therapeutics, supersonic aviation, additive manufacturing, and related frontier sectors. Capital deployment is paired with hands-on post-investment support including financing assistance, staffing support, supply chain guidance, milestone setting, risk identification, and proactive engagement with portfolio founders. The firm sources deal flow through direct founder outreach, portfolio referrals, and an online pitch submission process.

Product overview

E15 VC operates as a stage-agnostic deep-tech focused venture capital firm offering a unified investment platform. The core offering combines capital investment with hands-on operational support, leveraging the firm's extensive network to drive value for portfolio companies. The platform provides thesis-led investment approach, rapid insights, and multi-year partnership commitments to founders building transformative companies in sectors including surgical robotics, therapeutics, supersonic aviation, and advanced manufacturing.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• E15 VC Investment Platform Stage-agnostic venture capital investment platform providing funding, strategic guidance, and post-investment support to deep-tech founders at any stage of development globally. The platform combines thesis-led capital deployment with hands-on support spanning financing assistance, staffing, supply chain guidance, milestone setting, and network access for portfolio expansion.

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Lux Capital: Lux Capital is a New York-based deep-tech focused VC firm investing in sectors including aerospace, robotics, biotech, and advanced manufacturing across stages. Like E15, it is thesis-driven and stage-flexible, backing founders in hard-tech categories generalists avoid.
• Khosla Ventures: Khosla Ventures is a deep-tech and impact-focused VC firm investing across stages from seed to growth in areas including aerospace, robotics, therapeutics, and frontier manufacturing. Highly comparable to E15's stage-agnostic, deep-tech-led approach.
• Founders Fund: Founders Fund is a stage-agnostic, thesis-led VC firm with deep exposure to aerospace (SpaceX), biotech, and frontier technology. E15 mirrors its conviction-driven, category-defining investment style across deep-tech sectors.
• DCVC (Data Collective): DCVC is a deep-tech VC firm focused on computational, engineering, and life sciences breakthroughs. Its stage-agnostic, science-led approach to deep-tech investing closely parallels E15's thesis-led model.
• SOSV: SOSV is a global, stage-agnostic VC firm running vertical-specific programs (Hax for hardware, IndieBio for biotech, etc.) across multiple continents. It shares E15's deep-tech focus and globally distributed investment model.

Emerging players

• Haystack Fund: Haystack is an early-stage deep-tech VC firm investing in frontier technology and science-driven companies. While smaller and earlier-stage-focused than E15, it shares the deep-tech thesis and founder-centric investment approach.
• 1517 Fund: 1517 Fund is a small, deep-tech-focused VC firm backing young founders building in aerospace, manufacturing, and frontier science. Like E15, it is a boutique operation differentiated by deep-tech conviction rather than scale.

Regional players

• Beyond Ventures: Beyond Ventures is a Hong Kong-based venture capital firm investing in deep-tech and cross-border opportunities between Asia and global markets. It is the closest geographic and thematic peer to E15's Hong Kong-rooted, globally deployed deep-tech strategy.
• Horizons Ventures: Horizons Ventures is a Hong Kong-based, privately-held VC firm of the Li Ka-shing family that invests globally in deep-tech and disruptive technology. It shares E15's HK domicile, global mandate, and deep-tech orientation, though at a much larger scale.

Broad incumbents

• Andreessen Horowitz (a16z): a16z is a broad, stage-agnostic venture capital firm with growing deep-tech exposure across bio/health, aerospace, and American Dynamism. E15 occupies a similar thesis-led, stage-flexible niche but at boutique scale versus a16z's mega-fund footprint.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments13 records

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

Frequently asked questions about E15 VC