Lu Zhang (venture capitalist)

Lu Zhang is a Chinese-American venture capitalist, entrepreneur, and the founder and managing partner of Fusion Fund, a Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm.[1] Zhang was one of the first Chinese-American women to be featured on Forbes 30 Under 30 in the venture capital category[2] and has been recognized as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum.[3]

Early life and education

Lu Zhang was born and raised in Inner Mongolia, China.[4] She earned her Bachelor of Engineering from Tianjin University in China.[5] She moved to the United States in 2010 and later earned a Master of Science in Materials Science and Engineering from Stanford University.[6]

While at Stanford, Zhang developed non-invasive diagnostic technologies for Type 2 diabetes. At the age of 21, she founded her first medical device company based on her research, and successfully exited the business by the age of 24.[7]

Business career

Beginning of her career, Zhang worked as a materials science researcher and was the founder and CEO of a medical device startup focused on developing non-invasive technology for the early diagnosis of Type 2 diabetes. The company, based on her research at Stanford University, was acquired in 2014.[8]

In 2015, Lu Zhang founded Fusion Fund, a venture capital firm headquartered in Palo Alto, California.[9] The firm focuses on early-stage investments in enterprise AI, healthcare, industrial automation, and space-related technologies, primarily within the U.S. and Canada.[10]

As of 2025, Fusion Fund manages approximately $520 million in assets under management (AUM). It has backed more than 90 startups, including Otter.ai, You.com, EdgeQ, Element Biosciences, Proscia, Mojo Vision, GrubMarket, Reality Defender.[11][12]

Zhang also launched the Fusion Fund VC Fellowship, an initiative that attracts top engineering and business talent for training in venture capital.[13][14]

She frequently speaks at major global forums including the World Economic Forum (Davos), Web Summit, Milken Global Summit, Future Investment Initiative (FII), TEDx, and CNBC panels.[15][16][17]

Awards and recognition

Lu Zhang has received multiple honors for her work in entrepreneurship and venture capital:

  • Forbes 30 Under 30 - Venture Capital (2017), becoming the first Chinese-American woman featured in this category.[5]
  • Young Global Leader, World Economic Forum[18][19]
  • Silicon Valley Women of Influence[20]
  • Top 25 Female Early-Stage Investors, Business Insider[3]

References

  1. ^ "The Seed 40: The best women early-stage investors of 2025". Business Insider. Retrieved 2025-08-12.
  2. ^ "Lu Zhang, 28 - 2017-01-03 - 2017 30 Under 30: Venture Capital". Forbes. Retrieved 2025-08-12.
  3. ^ a b "The Seed 25: The best female early-stage investors of 2021". Business Insider. Retrieved 2025-08-12.
  4. ^ "Leaders in Action - Lu Zhang" (PDF). Women's Empowerment Principles. weps.org.
  5. ^ a b "Zhang Lu". Forbes. Retrieved 2025-08-12.
  6. ^ Lynley, Matthew (2018-05-02). "Fusion Fund raises a second $85M fund for heavily technical investing". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2025-08-12.
  7. ^ Hasan, Zoya. "Fusion Fund Raises $190 Million To Back The Next Tech Giant". Forbes. Retrieved 2025-08-12.
  8. ^ Howard, Caroline. "Women Under 30 Are Leading The Pack In Entrepreneurship And Innovation". Forbes. Retrieved 2025-08-12.
  9. ^ PhD, Jonathan D. Grinstein (2023-10-02). "Fusion Fund Powers Founders Bringing AI to Healthtech, Life Sciences, and More". GEN - Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology News. Retrieved 2025-08-12.
  10. ^ "We must first make AI more affordable before thinking about scaling up use cases: Fusion Fund". CNBC. 2024-09-19. Retrieved 2025-08-12.
  11. ^ "Venturing into murky waters". chinadailyhk. Retrieved 2025-08-12.
  12. ^ "Seed 30: The best women early-stage investors of 2023". Business Insider. Retrieved 2025-08-20.
  13. ^ "Medtech Investing: What VCs Want Right Now". www.lifesciencemarketresearch.com. Retrieved 2025-08-12.
  14. ^ "Everything Startup - New VC Funds - Fusion Fund". everythingstartups.com. Retrieved 2025-08-12.
  15. ^ "Zhang Lu". World Economic Forum. Archived from the original on 2025-06-27. Retrieved 2025-08-12.
  16. ^ "Lu Zhang | Milken Institute". milkeninstitute.org. 2024-09-18. Retrieved 2025-08-12.
  17. ^ "Lu Zhang, Founding Partner at Fusion Fund, announced as a featured speaker at the F50 Global Capital Summit Austin 2021 - F50 Nexus - Austin + Silicon Valley". 2021-06-23. Retrieved 2025-08-12.
  18. ^ "YGL Alumni". World Economic Forum. Archived from the original on 2025-06-22. Retrieved 2025-08-20.
  19. ^ Fleenor, Julia (2018-06-19). "17 Women from the 2018 World Economic Forum 100 Young Leaders". The Way Women Work. Retrieved 2025-08-20.
  20. ^ "Meet The Women Of Influence Class For 2018, L Z". www.bizjournals.com. Retrieved 2025-08-20.
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