Fundraising Fox

Tyson Chen

Founder

Founder at Avoca

New York, New York, United States

FoundedAvoca · YC

About

Tyson Chen is a cofounder at Avoca. He previously worked for three years as a product manager at Nuro on autonomous delivery systems, and spent two years as a consultant at BCG advising Fortune 500 companies on AI applications. He studied computer science at MIT with a focus on machine learning research in generative AI for drug discovery.

Founder at AvocaYC W23

Intro paths

YC

Tyson went through Y Combinator (Winter 2023) — any YC alum in your network can reach them through the YC community.

GP

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

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In turn, Tyson can intro founders to Avoca's investors below.

Avoca's investors · 15

Alt CapitalSan Francisco · $1M – $10M checksAmplify PartnersMenlo Park · $500K – $5M checksAmplify Partners CVMenlo Park · since 2026AudaciousSan FranciscoBoxGroupNew York · $1M checksCitta CapitalPalo AltoFormus CapitalGeneral CatalystSan Francisco · $30M checks · since 2026Khosla VenturesMenlo Park · $5K – $50M checksKleiner PerkinsMenlo Park · $500K – $15M checks · since 2026OUTBOUND CAPITALSaratoga SpringsPathlight VenturesOld Bridge · $500K – $5M checksStandard CapitalSan FranciscoThe E14 FundCambridge · $1M – $5M checksY CombinatorSan Francisco · $500K checks · since 2023

Co-founders at Avoca

ASApurva Shrivastava
Apurva ShrivastavaFounder

Experience

  1. Avoca AIFounder, Co-CEOcurrent2022 — presentNew York, New York, United States
  2. NuroProduct Manager2020 — 2022San Francisco Bay Area
  3. NuroProduct Operations Manager2019 — 2020San Francisco Bay Area
  4. The Boston Consulting Group (BCG)Consultant2017 — 2019New York, New York, United States
  5. MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL)AI Researcher2015 — 2017Cambridge, MA
  6. Boston Consulting Group (BCG)Summer Associate2016New York City Metropolitan Area
  7. MIT Media LabResearcher2015 — 2016Cambridge, MA
  8. MicrosoftSoftware Engineering Intern2015Greater Boston
  9. Thomson ReutersData Science Intern2015Greater Boston
  10. A*STAR - Agency for Science, Technology and ResearchMachine Learning Engineer2014Singapore
  11. VIStology, Inc.Software Development Engineer2014Greater Boston

Skills & more

Public Speaking3Leadership2Strategy2Machine Learning32Software Development3Research3Data Analysis5Data Science2Entrepreneurship3Product Management5Algorithms5Business Strategy2
+2 morePythonJava

Languages English · German · Mandarin

From Tyson's professional profile.

Frequently asked questions

Who is Tyson Chen?
Tyson Chen is a cofounder at Avoca. He previously worked for three years as a product manager at Nuro on autonomous delivery systems, and spent two years as a consultant at BCG advising Fortune 500 companies on AI applications. He studied computer science at MIT with a focus on machine learning research in generative AI for drug discovery.
Where does Tyson Chen work?
Tyson Chen is Founder of Avoca.
What companies did Tyson Chen found?
Tyson Chen founded Avoca.
Where did Tyson Chen go to school?
Tyson Chen studied at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (BS, Computer Science); Y Combinator; Central York High School.

Founder mafias

Y Combinator mafia8,773

Also came through, then founded or led a company.

Sam AltmanPresidentFounded Tools for Humanity +3Jessica LivingstonCo-founderFounded Y CombinatorAlexis OhanianYC Summer 2005Founded RedditFred EhrsamYC Summer 2012Founded Nudge +1Matt HuangYC Winter 2011Founded HotspotsTrae StephensYC Winter 2022Founded Pursuit +1

+ 8,766 more

Y Combinator mafia4,716

Also came through, then founded or led a company.

Ryan SheaEntrepreneurshipFounded StacksTarek MansourFounded KalshiSuhail DoshiEating beans & riceFounded Playground +1Subomi OluwalanaW22Founded ConvoyDarius "Bubs" MonsefS19Founded Sightbox +3Matthew ScholzFounded Oisin Biotechnologies +3

+ 4,709 more

Massachusetts Institute of Technology mafia546

Also came through, then founded or led a company.

Elad GilPhDFounded Brain Co.Nat FriedmanBachelor of ScienceFounded XamarinMatt HuangB.S.Founded HotspotsDelian AsparouhovDropoutFounded Nightingale +1Drew HoustonBSFounded Dropbox +1Arash FerdowsiComputer ScienceFounded Dropbox

+ 539 more

Nuro mafia7

Also came through, then founded or led a company.

Karim BoustaBoard MemberFounded Tactix +2Arpan RauTechnical Product Manager, AutonomyFounded OutSail TechnologiesPhilip KungSoftware Engineer InternFounded SweetspotAlan LiuSoftware EngineerFounded Health HarborJosh KellyMechanical Engineering InternFounded Pave RoboticsSaad JamalML Compiler EngineerFounded Antigen

Same school

Also attended Massachusetts Institute of Technology1,387

Fred WilsonCo-founder & Partner at Union Square VenturesElad GilSolo general partner investing through Gil CapitalAileen LeeFounder & Managing Partner of Cowboy VenturesHemant TanejaCEO & Managing Director of General CatalystNat FriedmanCo-lead of Meta Superintelligence Labs; co-founder of NFDGBrad FeldCo-founder of Foundry and Techstars

+ 1,381 more

Also attended Y Combinator2,000

Tarek MansourCo-founder & CEO of KalshiSuhail DoshiFounder of Mixpanel; founder of ParticleSubomi OluwalanaCo-founder & CEO of ConvoyMaroof AhmedFounder at Octopus VenturesJustin SwartPartner at Bitkraft Esports VenturesCollin WallaceGeneral Partner at Lobby Capital

+ 1,994 more

Shared employers

Also worked at Nuro12

Sam Smith-EppsteinerPartner at Innovation EndeavorsHenry LauInvestment Manager at Saltagen VenturesJohnathan BuddInvestor at Matter Venture PartnersJohn LillyInvestor at Gigascale CapitalNan RansohoffInvestor at G2 Venture PartnersSimon RothmanPartner at Greylock Partners

+ 6 more

Also worked at MIT Media Lab106

Ryan SheaCo-founder of Blockstack (Stacks)Wesley ChanInvestor at Felicis VenturesDr. Catherine HavasiAdvisor at AI CapitalWill JackInvestor at Alsop Louie PartnersArjan SchütteFounder & Managing Partner at Core Venture CapitalKevin TuPartner at DFJ

+ 100 more

Also worked at Microsoft1,188

Reid HoffmanCo-founder of LinkedIn; Partner at GreylockGarry TanPresident & CEO of Y CombinatorNat FriedmanCo-lead of Meta Superintelligence Labs; co-founder of NFDGKai-Fu LeeChairman of Sinovation Ventures and CEO of 01.AIBill GatesCo-founder of Microsoft; Chair of the Gates FoundationMike KriegerCo-founder of Instagram; Chief Product Officer at Anthropic

+ 1,182 more

Also worked at Thomson Reuters115

Andrea HippeauPartner at Lerer HippeauBob StefanskiManaging Director at eLab VenturesRhie LimPartner, Global Strategy at One Way VenturesJoePartner at Thomson Reuters VenturesJosef NajmPrincipal at Thomson Reuters VenturesJillExecutive Assistant at Thomson Reuters Ventures

+ 109 more