Fundraising Fox
🦊/People
Sign in

Zhizhen Zhong

Founder

Co-Founder & CEO at Netpreme

Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States

FoundedNetpreme

Find your path to Zhizhen

728 people in our graph share verified history with Zhizhen — schools, employers, funds. One of them is your warm intro.

Ken ChenaultunlockedZhizhen: together at Facebook (2019–2020)
Zhizhen: together at University of California, Davis
×4Zhizhen: together at Massachusetts Institute of Technology
×5Zhizhen: together at Facebook

About

Zhizhen Zhong is Co-Founder and CEO of Netpreme, a company developing computer systems that combine photonics and electronics for AI applications, and is an Activate Fellow. He previously worked as a Postdoctoral Associate at MIT, where he built photonic-electronic integrated systems, including "Lightning," a photonic-electronic smartNIC for inference developed in collaboration with researchers from MIT CSAIL and RLE, and co-created and co-instructed a course on optical computing. Zhong holds a Ph.D. in Electronics Engineering from Tsinghua University, along with a B.Eng. in Electronics Engineering and a B.Eco. in Economics from the same institution.

Co-Founder & CEO at Netpreme

Intro paths

→

In turn, Zhizhen can intro founders to Netpreme's investors below.

Netpreme's investors · 4

boldstart venturesMiami · $1M – $3M checks · since 2025Propeller Inc.Amman · $50K – $3.5M checksRhapsody Venture PartnersCambridge · $500K – $2M checksThe E14 FundCambridge · $1M – $5M checks

Co-founders at Netpreme

NLNikita Lazarev
Nikita LazarevCo-Founder & CTO

Experience

  1. NetpremeCo-Founder, Chief Executive Officercurrent2024 — present
  2. ActivateActivate Fellowcurrent2025 — present
  3. Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyPostdoctoral Associate2020 — 2024
  4. FacebookResearch Scientist2019 — 2020

Skills & more

EntrepreneurshipEarly-Stage StartupsCorporate StrategyOptical NetworkingComputer ArchitectureArtificial Intelligence (AI)Higher Education TeachingComputer HardwareComputer NetworkingDeep LearningSilicon PhotonicsField-Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGA)
  • Intel Connectivity Academy Course Series on P4 Tofino Switch Architecture and Use Cases — Intel
  • AIM Photonics Photonic Integrated Circuit (PIC) Testing & Packaging — AIM Photonics
  • Fabless Design of Photonic Integrated Circuits within the AIM Photonics Foundry — AIM Photonics
  • Awarded Photographer — 1x
  • Kaufman Teaching Certificate — Massachusetts Institute of Technology

From Zhizhen's professional profile.

Frequently asked questions

Who is Zhizhen Zhong?
Zhizhen Zhong is Co-Founder and CEO of Netpreme, a company developing computer systems that combine photonics and electronics for AI applications, and is an Activate Fellow. He previously worked as a Postdoctoral Associate at MIT, where he built photonic-electronic integrated systems, including "Lightning," a photonic-electronic smartNIC for inference developed in collaboration with researchers from MIT CSAIL and RLE, and co-created and co-instructed a course on optical computing. Zhong holds a Ph.D. in Electronics Engineering from Tsinghua University, along with a B.Eng. in Electronics Engineering and a B.Eco. in Economics from the same institution.
Where does Zhizhen Zhong work?
Zhizhen Zhong is Co-Founder & CEO of Netpreme.
What companies did Zhizhen Zhong found?
Zhizhen Zhong founded Netpreme.
Where did Zhizhen Zhong go to school?
Zhizhen Zhong studied at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Postdoctoral Associate - Postdoc, Computer Systems and Optical Networking); Tsinghua University (Doctor of Philosophy - Ph.D., Electronic Engineering); University of California, Davis (Visiting Ph.D. Scholar, Computer Science).

Founder mafias

Same school

Shared employers