Hello! I'm Leo!
I am currently a partner at FoundersX Ventures, an early-stage deep-tech venture capital firm based in Menlo Park, California and Kendall Square, Massachusetts. We invest in platform/infrastructure companies with an emphasis on big data. Prior to this, I did my Ph.D. in Bioengineering in David Weitz's lab at Harvard, where I focused on developing novel microfluidics technologies for early cancer diagnosis and drug discovery. During my postdoc in Feng Zhang's lab at MIT/Broad Institute, I developed a unique technology for enriching the full genome of rare bacteria of interest for CRISPR/genome editing drug discovery. Throughout my Ph.D. and postdoc, I was fortunate to publish 9 papers and secure 8 patents. Two of those patents led to the founding of two start-up companies, and another one was licensed to a public company in the ultra-sensitive protein biomarker detection space. As a scientist, I gained a wealth of knowledge and experience that I now leverage as a partner at FoundersX Ventures, where I help founders in tech and deep-tech succeed by providing support and guidance to promising companies. I am passionate about innovation and helping entrepreneurs bring their ideas to life.
Leo Cui, Ph.D.
General Partner at FoundersX Ventures
Ph.D. in Bioengineering at Harvard University
Postdoc in Feng Zhang's lab at MIT/Broad Institute
Harvard Business School - PE/VC program
Email:
EXPERIENCE
2020-Present
Partner
FoundersX Ventures is a cross stage venture capital firm based in Silicon Valley. Our investments have strong focus on game-changing technologies in high growth industries, including quantum computing, enterprise SaaS, Fintech, biotech, telehealth, and low-carbon solutions. We are strategic investors, adding values in bringing in global capital and enterprise partners, and access to top engineering talent in Stanford, Berkeley, Harvard and MIT. Our investment team is highly engaging and operation driven. We enjoy empowering daring tech founders to change the world!
EDUCATION
2023
Private Equity Venture Capital
Executive program
Harvard Business School
Exploring the multifaceted issues that investors face over the course of numerous market cycles. Studied case studies on the full range of industry models—from venture capital to growth equity to buyouts. We also learned how to build more effective investment strategies for the investment firm and adapt our approach to rapidly changing conditions.
2019-2022
MIT
Postdoc Fellow
Feng Zhang's lab
I developed a low-cost high-throughput drop-based microfluidics technology for enriching whole bacteria genome sequence that contains the target novel CRISPR gene of interest from a pool of 10 million environmental microbial sample.
2014-2019
Ph.D. in Bioengineering
David Weitz's lab
Harvard University
My work primarily focuses on development of novel low-cost, high-throughput drop-based microfluidics tools for early cancer diagnosis and drug discovery. I published 8 peer-reviewed journal articles and 8 patent applications during my Ph.D. Two of those patents led to the founding of two start-up companies, and another one was licensed to a public company in the ultra-sensitive protein biomarker detection space.
Selected Portfolio Companies
Palamedrix
Single protein sequencing
(Acquired by SomaLogic)
Cognito Therapeutics
Digital therapeutics
Tranch
Enterprise BNPL
Omniscope
Building the largest
immune databank
Zafrens
High-throughput
drug screening with AI
Investment areas
FinTech
Enterprise SaaS
Techbio
Low-carbon solutions
Deep-tech
Digital Health
We invest in companies that...
Define the future
Our investment portfolio includes breakthrough technologies, such as quantum computing, mRNA therapeutics, and AI for drug discovery. We work closely with deep-tech founders to guide them in bringing their innovative ideas from the lab to the market.
Break barriers
Our investment strategy focuses on companies that challenge traditional fields, such as fintech, enterprise SaaS, and digital health, by breaking down barriers. We seek out opportunities in which digital technology can penetrate and make a meaningful impact.
We invest in platform companies with an emphasis on big data.