Lake Dai
InvestorFounder & Managing Partner at Sancus Ventures · Adjunct Professor, Applied AI, AI Governance at Carnegie Mellon University
Palo Alto, California
Writes $250K – $1M checks · typically $500K
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About
Lake Dai is Founder & Managing Partner at Sancus Ventures, with over a decade in venture investing focused on AI startups. She previously held product and engineering roles at Alibaba, where she was an early employee and Head of Product and helped build the company's B2B marketplace, as well as at Yahoo!, Overture, and other startups. She teaches Applied AI as an adjunct professor at Carnegie Mellon University, holds an MBA from USC and a B.S. in Economics from Beijing International Studies University, and studied in Stanford's Computer Science MS program.
Invests in
AI & Machine Learning
Experience
- Sancus VenturesFounder, Managing Partnercurrent2022 — presentSan Francisco Bay Area
- Carnegie Mellon UniversityAdjunct Professor, Applied AI, AI Governancecurrent2015 — presentNASA Ames Research Center, CA
- Positive AI LabsCo-Foundercurrent2023 — presentSilicon Valley, CA
- GoogleMentor, Google AI Acceleratorcurrent2025 — present
- AngelListAdvisory Board Membercurrent2024 — presentSan Francisco Bay Area
- GIA (Gemological Institute of America)Board Governor (Audit & Risk, Finance, and Governance Committees)current2022 — present
- Stanford Alumni AssociationTech Group Lead, Stanford Women on Boards2022 — 2024
- LDV PartnersPartner2016 — 2022Palo Alto, CA
- ShinectCo-founder, Sinect Startup Accelerator2015 — 2017United States
- QuixeySenior Director, Search Infrastructure2013 — 2016Mountain View, CA
- Target Media Partners InteractiveVP of Product, Founding Team Member2009 — 2013Los Angeles, CA
- Authenticlick, IncSenior Director of Product, Founding Team Member2007 — 2008Los Angeles, CA
- YahooProduct & Business Unit Leader2002 — 2007Los Angeles, CA
- Alibaba.comHead of Product, Alibaba.com.cn2000 — 2002Hangzhou, China
Skills & more
+12 more
Online MarketingE-commerceMarketingSocial Media MarketingDigital MediaBusiness DevelopmentCRMProduct MarketingTechnology CommitteeMarketplaceSearchSaaSLanguages Chinese · English
From Lake's professional profile.
Deals · 32
ArtieSolo GP
via Sancus Ventures · filed Nov 2025
CipherOwlSolo GP
via Sancus Ventures · filed Oct 2025
ALIGNMT AISolo GP
via Sancus Ventures · filed Aug 2025
PaxSolo GP
via Sancus Ventures · filed Apr 2025
DinariSolo GP
via Sancus Ventures · filed Aug 2023
AnyscaleSolo GP
via Sancus Ventures · filed Aug 2019
Napkin LabsSolo GP
via Sancus Ventures · filed Dec 2011
AchieveGoSolo GP
via Sancus Ventures
aomniSolo GP
via Sancus Ventures
ArenaSolo GP
via Sancus Ventures
BastionSolo GP
via Sancus Ventures
BrixSolo GP
via Sancus Ventures
CasedSolo GP
via Sancus Ventures
Code LockSolo GP
via Sancus Ventures
DeffaiSolo GP
via Sancus Ventures
Dyna RoboticsSolo GP
via Sancus Ventures
ExceedsSolo GP
via Sancus Ventures
Monterey AISolo GP
via Sancus Ventures
MoveBitSolo GP
via Sancus Ventures
OnyxSolo GP
via Sancus Ventures
OpennoteSolo GP
via Sancus Ventures
OpsaSolo GP
via Sancus Ventures
PredibaseSolo GP
via Sancus Ventures
ReservoirSolo GP
via Sancus Ventures
Silicon DataSolo GP
via Sancus Ventures
SoftmaxSolo GP
via Sancus Ventures
Taiko LabsSolo GP
via Sancus Ventures
graphicSolo GP
via Sancus Ventures
graphicSolo GP
via Sancus Ventures
InshallahSolo GP
via Sancus Ventures
TaikoSolo GP
via Sancus Ventures
zCloak NetworkSolo GP
via Sancus Ventures
Attribution from SEC filings, press coverage, and firm rosters. Some rows are inferred. Not right? Tell us.
Colleagues at Sancus Ventures
Frequently asked questions
- Who is Lake Dai?
- Lake Dai is Founder & Managing Partner at Sancus Ventures, with over a decade in venture investing focused on AI startups. She previously held product and engineering roles at Alibaba, where she was an early employee and Head of Product and helped build the company's B2B marketplace, as well as at Yahoo!, Overture, and other startups. She teaches Applied AI as an adjunct professor at Carnegie Mellon University, holds an MBA from USC and a B.S. in Economics from Beijing International Studies University, and studied in Stanford's Computer Science MS program.
- Where does Lake Dai work?
- Lake Dai is Founder & Managing Partner at Sancus Ventures.
- What does Lake Dai invest in?
- Lake Dai invests in AI & Machine Learning.
- What check size does Lake Dai write?
- Lake Dai typically writes checks of $250K – $1M.
- Where did Lake Dai go to school?
- Lake Dai studied at Stanford University (Master of Science - MS (on leave), Computer Science); University of Southern California (Master of Business Administration - MBA); Beijing International Studies University (Bachelor of Science - BS, Economics).
Same school
Also attended Stanford University2,000
+ 1,994 more
Also attended University of Southern California816
+ 810 more
Also attended Beijing International Studies University4
Also attended Harvard University2,000
+ 1,994 more
Shared employers
Also worked at Google2,000
+ 1,994 more
Also worked at AngelList78
+ 72 more
Also worked at Stanford Alumni Association8
+ 2 more
Also worked at Yahoo436
+ 430 more