Fundraising Fox

Lake Dai

Investor

Founder & Managing Partner at Sancus Ventures

Palo Alto, California

Writes $250K – $1M checks · typically $500K

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

  1. Sancus VenturesFounder, Managing Partnercurrent2022 — presentSan Francisco Bay Area
  2. Carnegie Mellon UniversityAdjunct Professor, Applied AI, AI Governancecurrent2015 — presentNASA Ames Research Center, CA
  3. Positive AI LabsCo-Foundercurrent2023 — presentSilicon Valley, CA
  4. GoogleMentor, Google AI Acceleratorcurrent2025 — present
  5. AngelListAdvisory Board Membercurrent2024 — presentSan Francisco Bay Area
  6. GIA (Gemological Institute of America)Board Governor (Audit & Risk, Finance, and Governance Committees)current2022 — present
  7. Stanford Alumni AssociationTech Group Lead, Stanford Women on Boards2022 — 2024
  8. LDV PartnersPartner2016 — 2022Palo Alto, CA
  9. ShinectCo-founder, Sinect Startup Accelerator2015 — 2017United States
  10. QuixeySenior Director, Search Infrastructure2013 — 2016Mountain View, CA
  11. Target Media Partners InteractiveVP of Product, Founding Team Member2009 — 2013Los Angeles, CA
  12. Authenticlick, IncSenior Director of Product, Founding Team Member2007 — 2008Los Angeles, CA
  13. YahooProduct & Business Unit Leader2002 — 2007Los Angeles, CA
  14. Alibaba.comHead of Product, Alibaba.com.cn2000 — 2002Hangzhou, China

Education

  1. Stanford UniversityMaster of Science - MS (on leave), Computer Science
  2. University of Southern CaliforniaMaster of Business Administration - MBA
  3. Beijing International Studies UniversityBachelor of Science - BS, Economics
  4. Harvard UniversityBusiness Administration and Management, General

Skills & more

Board of Directors3Venture Capital2Audit Committee3Product Management99Agile Project Management6Online Advertising50Lead Generation39Monetization26SEO12SEM35B2B10Localization5
+12 moreOnline MarketingE-commerceMarketingSocial Media MarketingDigital MediaBusiness DevelopmentCRMProduct MarketingTechnology CommitteeMarketplaceSearchSaaS

Languages Chinese · English

From Lake's professional profile.

Deals · 32

ArtieSolo GP

via Sancus Ventures · filed Nov 2025

PaxSolo GP

via Sancus Ventures · filed Apr 2025

AnyscaleSolo GP

via Sancus Ventures · filed Aug 2019

Napkin LabsSolo GP

via Sancus Ventures · filed Dec 2011

AchieveGoSolo GP

via Sancus Ventures

ALIGNMT AISolo 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

CipherOwlSolo GP

via Sancus Ventures

Code LockSolo GP

via Sancus Ventures

DeffaiSolo GP

via Sancus Ventures

DinariSolo 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

graphicSolo GP

via Sancus Ventures

graphicSolo GP

via Sancus Ventures

InshallahSolo GP

via Sancus Ventures

TaikoSolo GP

via Sancus Ventures

Taiko LabsSolo 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

Angela Hsu
Vice President at Sancus Ventures
Lei Du
Advisor at Sancus Ventures
Leo Liang
Advisor at Sancus Ventures
Lily Zhang
Advisor at Sancus Ventures
Riyaz Faizullabhoy
Advisor at Sancus Ventures
Sherwin Wu
Advisor at Sancus Ventures
Ted Nyman
Advisor at Sancus Ventures
Yury Kapgan
Advisor at Sancus Ventures

Frequently asked questions

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.

Same school

Also attended Stanford University2,000

Peter ThielCo-founder & Partner at Founders FundReid HoffmanCo-founder of LinkedIn; Partner at GreylockDavid SacksCo-founder & General Partner at Craft Ventures; PCAST co-chair; former White House AI & crypto czarKeith RaboisManaging Director at Khosla VenturesGarry TanPresident & CEO of Y CombinatorAlfred LinPartner at Sequoia Capital

+ 1,994 more

Also attended University of Southern California474

Shaun MaguirePartner at Sequoia CapitalDamir BecirovicInvestor at Index VenturesVojtech HornaInvestor at Index VenturesNatalie VaisInvestor at Spark CapitalErica BresciaManaging Director at Redpoint VenturesDylan PearcePartner at Greycroft

+ 468 more

Also attended Harvard University1,457

Alfred LinPartner at Sequoia CapitalChris DixonFounder & Managing Partner of a16z crypto at Andreessen HorowitzSarah TavelVenture Partner at BenchmarkDanny RimerPartner at Index VenturesLaela SturdyManaging Partner at CapitalGRyan IsonoDeal Partner at Felicis Ventures

+ 1,451 more

Shared employers

Also worked at Google1,558

Ron ConwayFounder of SV AngelElad GilSolo general partner investing through Gil CapitalBrian SingermanCo-founder of GPx; Partner Emeritus at Founders FundJess LeePartner and Chief Product Officer at Sequoia CapitalTomasz TunguzFounder & General Partner at Theory VenturesHunter WalkCo-founder & Partner at Homebrew

+ 1,552 more

Also worked at Stanford Alumni Association5

David HornikFounder of Lobby CapitalHoward WolfInvestor at Streamlined VenturesIra EhrenpreisFounder and Managing Partner at DBL PartnersDontae RayfordHead of Platform at Black OperatorFrances LiuFounder at Promptless

Also worked at Yahoo278

Jess LeePartner and Chief Product Officer at Sequoia CapitalMike SpeiserManaging Director at Sutter Hill VenturesFrédérique DameInvestor at GV (Google Ventures)Marcie VuPartner at GreycroftIsabelle PhelpsPartner at Lerer HippeauPaul LevineOperating Partner at Sapphire Ventures

+ 272 more

Also worked at Alibaba.com4

Linda FinleyCEO Sleep Number at GATHER VENTURESWinnie KhooPartner at AntlerEric del BalsoFounder and General Partner at Kohala VenturesDavid WeiPartner at Vision Knight Capital