AME Cloud Ventures

AME Cloud Ventures Research

Investment Thesis

AME Cloud Ventures is a data-infrastructure focused venture capital fund led by Jerry Yang, co-founder of Yahoo! Founded in 2012 and headquartered in Palo Alto, California, the fund invests in seed to later-stage technology companies building infrastructure and value chains around data. The firm's core belief is that accurate, actionable data will be a major life-blood in the future economy—reflected in the Japanese word "ame" (rain) that represents the firm's name. AME seeks to back true entrepreneurs with big ideas and deep tech, providing not just capital but also operational expertise, strategic guidance, and a network of mentors and international partners, particularly in China and Asia-Pacific.

Investment Philosophy

AME Cloud Ventures' investment approach centers on three core elements:

1. Data Infrastructure Focus: The fund targets companies gathering or creating unique data at every stage of the data stack—from infrastructure all the way to applications, sensors, and end-user products.

2. True Entrepreneurs: The firm believes great people are the key to company success and actively seeks founders with deep domain expertise, proven execution, and big ambitions. Management emphasizes both founder quality and team cohesion.

3. Operational Support: Beyond capital deployment, AME provides strong operational and business experience, access to a deep network of mentors, and valuable connections to international markets, particularly leveraging Jerry Yang's relationships in China, Japan, and Asia-Pacific.

Stage Focus

AME Cloud Ventures operates across multiple stages:

• Seed Round: Typical checks in the $5-10M range for early-stage data infrastructure companies
• Series A: Primary focus with average round size of $14.9M across 68 investments
• Series B and Beyond: Active in growth-stage rounds with average Series B size of $44.4M across 40 investments
• Opportunistic: Follow-on reserves and selective pre-seed investments in exceptional teams

The fund has invested in 251 companies over 16 years, with an average of 12 new investments annually over the past decade. Recent activity shows 4-6 new first-time investments per year in recent years (2024-2025).

Check Size

Based on historical investment data:

• Seed Stage: Average $6.46M (58 investments)
• Series A: Average $14.9M (68 investments)
• Series B: Average $44.4M (40 investments)
• Typical Range: $5M - $50M depending on stage and company type

Lead Tendency

AME Cloud Ventures leads and co-leads rounds across its portfolio. Historical data shows the firm has made 16 lead investments and typically participates as a co-lead or strong participant in growth rounds. The firm's track record demonstrates willingness to lead seed rounds for exceptional teams and take meaningful stakes in Series A/B rounds.

Sector Focus

AME's portfolio spans a diverse set of sectors, with particular strength in:

• Enterprise Applications (110 investments)
• High Tech (69 investments)
• Enterprise Infrastructure (31 investments)
• HealthTech (31 investments)
• Life Sciences (30 investments)

The fund's sector diversity reflects its data-infrastructure thesis—the firm invests across virtually all verticals where data creation, analysis, or infrastructure plays a central role.

Geographic Focus

• Primary: United States (166 of 187 first-round investments, ~89%)
• Secondary: India (6 investments), United Kingdom (6), Canada (5)
• International Strategy: Active in leveraging founder networks in Asia-Pacific and China market entry opportunities

Recent Activity (2024-2025)

AME Cloud Ventures has been actively deploying capital with measured cadence:

2025 Investments (as of November):

• Flint (Series A, November 2025)
• Sage Care (Series B, October 2025)
• Cartography Biosciences (Series B, October 2025)
• Ellipsis Health (Series A, June 2025)
• Galatea (Series A, March 2025)

2024 Investments:

• 4 new first-time investments
• Continued follow-on participation in growth-stage rounds

Portfolio Highlights:

• 16 unicorns including Viz.ai, Minio, GrubMarket, Mammoth, and Blockstream
• 16 IPOs with recent public offerings including Eikon (Feb 2026, $908M market cap) and BioAge Labs (Sept 2024, $615M)
• 83 acquisitions including Slack, Okta exits, Synthego, and Cleanlab AI (acquired by Handshake, Jan 2026)

Team & Leadership

Jerry Yang - Founding Partner

• Co-founder of Yahoo! (1995)
• Board member: Workday, Alibaba
• Strong relationships with Yahoo! Japan and Asian markets

Jeff Chung - Managing Director

• Joined AME in 2013, leading investment activities
• Previously: Growth-stage investor at Silver Lake
• Education: BS UC Berkeley, MBA Harvard

Wretch Chien - Principal

• Founder/CEO of wretch.cc (Taiwan's first major blogging platform)
• Expertise: White space innovation, aerospace, robotics, medical devices
• Education: MBA Stanford

Nick Adams - Venture Partner

• 5 years experience in China and India
• Founded two startups in emerging markets
• Education: Masters in Engineering, Imperial College

Decision Process

AME Cloud Ventures operates as a partnership with distributed decision-making:

• Model: Partnership-based with multiple partners evaluating opportunities
• Founder Focus: Core evaluation centers on founder quality, track record, and domain expertise
• Network Leverage: Extensive use of advisory network for technical due diligence
• Timeline: Estimated 2-6 weeks for seed-stage decisions
• Warm Intros Preferred: Warm introductions through network strongly preferred

Founder Preferences

AME seeks founders who:

• Have deep domain expertise and proven execution track records
• Demonstrate clarity of vision around large market opportunities with data at the core
• Bring diverse perspectives and cross-cultural insights
• Show operational maturity and ability to attract strong teams
• Have international experience or credible market entry strategies
• Combine technical depth with business acumen

Notable Exits

Unicorns (16 total):

• Viz.ai - AI-powered care coordination platform
• Minio - Object storage platform
• GrubMarket - B2B eCommerce and enterprise AI
• Mammoth - Molecular diagnostics using CRISPR
• Blockstream - Blockchain financial infrastructure

Public Exits (16 IPOs):

• Eikon (Feb 2026, $908M market cap)
• BioAge Labs (Sept 2024, $615M)
• Rigetti Computing, FiscalNote, Didi
• Okta, Slack, Lyft, Gusto

Acquisitions (83 total):

• Cleanlab AI (by Handshake, Jan 2026)
• Synthego, Capella Space, Import.io

Summary

AME Cloud Ventures is a data-infrastructure-focused venture capital fund with exceptional founder quality focus and a proven track record of backing category-defining companies. Led by Yahoo! co-founder Jerry Yang, the fund combines strong thesis clarity, founder-centric evaluation, and active value-add engagement. With 251 investments generating 16 unicorns, 16 public exits, and 83 acquisitions, AME demonstrates consistent ability to identify and support exceptional teams. The firm's unique combination of US operational expertise and Asia-Pacific market relationships creates a distinctive competitive advantage.