Where does Jianna Liu work?

Jianna Liu is Founder of Cardinal.

What check size does Jianna Liu write?

Jianna Liu typically writes checks of $40K.

Where did Jianna Liu go to school?

Jianna Liu studied at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Bachelor of Engineering - BE, Computer Science); University of Oxford (Visiting Student, Music and Computer Science); Y Combinator.

Jianna Liu

Founder

Founder at Cardinal

Pleasanton, California

Writes $40K checks · typically $40K

FoundedCardinal · YC

Find your path to Jianna

10,620 people in our graph can introduce you to Jianna.

Each arrow is one introduction. Sign up to fill in the first one.

Ask Garry Tan to introduce you to Jianna

You →Garry · together at YC W26 (2026) →Jianna

Ask Jamie Chen to introduce you to Jianna

You →Jamie · 11 people · together at YC W26 →Jianna

Your email: the people you already email who know Jianna
2nd- and 3rd-degree connections: people you know who worked, studied or invested with Jianna
Your LinkedIn: the connections who can make the intro for you

We rank every route by how warm it is, so you raise on warm intros instead of cold emails.

About

Jianna Liu studied computer science at MIT and held software engineering roles at Meta, DoorDash, and Nvidia. She previously founded a YC S23-backed energy software company that was acquired by Johnson Controls.

Founder at Cardinal YC W26

Intro paths

Jianna went through Y Combinator (Winter 2026) — any YC alum in your network can reach them through the YC community.

Their group partner at YC was Gustaf Alstromer, General Partner at Y Combinator — the partner who ran Cardinal's batch and knows the company first-hand. YC profile ↗

→

In turn, Jianna can intro founders to Cardinal's investors below.

Cardinal's investors · 3

AudaciousSan Francisco MPG Fund Y CombinatorSan Francisco · $500K checks · since 2026

Co-founders at Cardinal

Devi JhaFounder

Experience

CardinalCo-Foundercurrent2025 — present
LeafpressCo-Founder2023 — 2025
MIT School of Architecture and PlanningResearcher2023Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States
DoorDashSoftware Engineer2022San Francisco, California, United States
MIT Climate & Sustainability Consortium (MCSC)Researcher2022Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States
NVIDIADeep Learning Researcher2021Santa Clara, California, United States
FacebookSoftware Engineer2021Menlo Park, California, United States
MIT Brain and Cognitive SciencesMachine Learning Researcher2020Cambridge, Massachusetts
Skale Education Inc.Software Engineer2020

Skills & more

Python7React.js4Javascript4Java1Typescript1HTML1

Languages Chinese

From Jianna's professional profile.

Frequently asked questions

Who is Jianna Liu?: Jianna Liu studied computer science at MIT and held software engineering roles at Meta, DoorDash, and Nvidia. She previously founded a YC S23-backed energy software company that was acquired by Johnson Controls.
Where does Jianna Liu work?: Jianna Liu is Founder of Cardinal.
What check size does Jianna Liu write?: Jianna Liu typically writes checks of $40K.
What companies did Jianna Liu found?: Jianna Liu founded Cardinal.
Where did Jianna Liu go to school?: Jianna Liu studied at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Bachelor of Engineering - BE, Computer Science); University of Oxford (Visiting Student, Music and Computer Science); Y Combinator.

Founder mafias

Y Combinator mafia10,595

Also came through, then founded or led a company.

Sam AltmanPresidentFounded Tools for Humanity +3 Garry TanPresident and CEOFounded Posterous +2 Jessica LivingstonFounder, RetiredFounded Y Combinator Alexis OhanianPartnerFounded Reddit Fred EhrsamYC Summer 2012Founded Nudge +1 Matt HuangYC Winter 2011Founded Paradigm +1

+ 10,588 more →

Massachusetts Institute of Technology mafia1,446

Also came through, then founded or led a company.

Fred WilsonSBFounded Union Square Ventures Elad GilPhDFounded Brain Co. +1 Hemant TanejaS.B.Founded Hippocratic AI Nat FriedmanBachelor of ScienceFounded Xamarin +1 Brad FeldS.B.Founded Techstars Ventures Matt HuangB.S.Founded Paradigm +1

+ 1,439 more →

University of Oxford mafia763

Also came through, then founded or led a company.

Reid HoffmanM.St.Founded LinkedIn +3 Gabriel PereyraDropped outFounded Harvey Iain DukesDPhilFounded Lomondther +5 Brent HobermanMaster of Arts - MAFounded Founders Pledge +4 William GuttmanM.PhilFounded CurvePoint +3 Tom BlomfieldMaster's DegreeFounded Starling Bank +2

+ 756 more →

NVIDIA mafia155

Also came through, then founded or led a company.

Jonathan RossChief Software ArchitectFounded Groq Inc Alán Aspuru-GuzikSenior Director of Quantum ChemistryFounded Intrepid Labs +1 Saurabh SrivastavaNemotron, Advanced Deep Learning ResearchFounded Warpdrive by Synthetic Minds +1 Alex SismanisAndroid Developer InternFounded L1 Advisors +1 Bhairav MehtaDeep Learning and Robotics ResearchFounded CharacterQuilt +1 Neil MovvaDeep Learning Architect, cuDNNFounded Sail Research +1

+ 148 more →

NVIDIA mafia124

Also came through, then founded or led a company.

Jonathan RossChief Software ArchitectFounded Groq Inc Alán Aspuru-GuzikSenior Director of Quantum ChemistryFounded Intrepid Labs +1 Saurabh SrivastavaNemotron, Advanced Deep Learning ResearchFounded Warpdrive by Synthetic Minds +1 Bhairav MehtaDeep Learning and Robotics ResearchFounded CharacterQuilt +1 Neil MovvaDeep Learning Architect, cuDNNFounded Sail Research +1 Ali GolshanSenior Director, AI ProductsFounded Stackrox +1

+ 117 more →

Same school

Also attended Massachusetts Institute of Technology2,000

Hemant TanejaCEO & Managing Director of General Catalyst Nat FriedmanCo-lead of Meta Superintelligence Labs; co-founder of NFDG Brad FeldCo-founder of Foundry and Techstars Matt HuangCo-founder and Managing Partner at Paradigm Delian AsparouhovPartner at Founders Fund and co-founder of Varda Arash FerdowsiCo-founder of Dropbox

+ 1,994 more

Also attended University of Oxford1,789

Reid HoffmanCo-founder of LinkedIn; Partner at Greylock Michael MoritzFormer Partner at Sequoia Capital; Senior Adviser at Sequoia Heritage Gabriel PereyraCo-founder & President of Harvey Dominic JacquessonInvestor at Index Ventures Erin Price-WrightInvestor at Index Ventures Jan HammerInvestor at Index Ventures

+ 1,783 more

Also attended Y Combinator2,000

Tarek MansourCo-founder & CEO of Kalshi Suhail DoshiFounder of Mixpanel; founder of Particle Subomi OluwalanaCo-founder & CEO of Convoy Arhaan A.Deeptech Fellow at Clear Ventures Collin WallaceGeneral Partner at Lobby Capital Victor SantosVictor Scout at One Way Ventures

+ 1,994 more

Shared employers

+ 81 more

Also worked at NVIDIA202

Jonathan RossFounder of Groq; inventor of Google's TPU — now at Nvidia Diana HuGeneral Partner at Y Combinator Ian ShannonFinance/Legal/IR at 8VC Ray SchuderSr. Investment Director at Samsung Catalyst Fund Rene HaasBoard Director at SoftBank Group Sandy YuanAdvisor, AV & Robotics at Verissimo Ventures

+ 196 more

Find your path to Jianna

About

Founder at CardinalYC W26

Intro paths

Cardinal's investors · 3

Co-founders at Cardinal

Experience

Skills & more

Frequently asked questions

Founder mafias

Y Combinator mafia10,595

Massachusetts Institute of Technology mafia1,446

University of Oxford mafia763

NVIDIA mafia155

NVIDIA mafia124

Same school

Also attended Massachusetts Institute of Technology2,000

Also attended University of Oxford1,789

Also attended Y Combinator2,000

Shared employers

Also worked at Cardinal1

Also worked at MIT School of Architecture and Planning1

Also worked at DoorDash87

Also worked at NVIDIA202

Founder at Cardinal YC W26