An AAPI-focused seed fund founded in 2020 by Dave Lu (no relation to Benjamine Liu) that participated in TrialSpark’s $156M Series C — a notably small fund present in a notably large round.
Bio
Hyphen Capital is a venture capital fund focused on supporting Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) founders. Founded in 2020 by Dave Lu and based in San Francisco, Hyphen invests primarily at the seed and early stage with check sizes ranging from $100,000 to $4.5 million. The fund has invested in 47 companies with one unicorn (Persona, identity verification, $1.5B valuation) and four acquisitions. [1][2]
The fund’s investor syndicate includes founders of Twitch, Patreon, YouTube, Gusto, OpenDoor, Honey, Boxed, MyFitnessPal, and Rotten Tomatoes, alongside executives from Nike, Walmart, Google, Twilio, Slack, and LinkedIn. Dave Lu is a “well-respected figure in Silicon Valley” who emphasizes both capital and strategic network access for AAPI founders. [1][3]
Hyphen Capital’s presence in TrialSpark’s $156M Series C (September 2021, led by Altman and Groom) is notable because the fund’s typical check size ($100K-$4.5M) is extremely small relative to the round size. Either Dave Lu had a personal relationship with the TrialSpark founders or investors that secured an allocation, or Hyphen’s AAPI focus was relevant to Benjamine Liu’s background as a Taiwanese-American/Chinese-American founder.
Basic Information
| Field | Detail |
|---|---|
| Name | Hyphen Capital |
| Founded | 2020 |
| Founder | Dave Lu (no relation to Benjamine Liu) |
| HQ | San Francisco, CA |
| Portfolio | 47 companies, 1 unicorn (Persona), 4 acquisitions |
| Check Size | $100K – $4.5M |
| Focus | AAPI founders, cross-sector (fintech, enterprise, healthcare, consumer) |
| TrialSpark Round | Series C ($156M, Sep 2021, Altman-led) |
Nodes / Open Questions
- What was Hyphen’s check size in the TrialSpark Series C? A $100K-$4.5M check in a $156M round suggests a small allocation. Was this a strategic relationship investment or a financial one?
- Dave Lu and Benjamine Liu — any relationship beyond shared surname? Both are AAPI tech figures in San Francisco. Different surnames in Chinese (Lu 陸 vs Liu 劉 typically). But the AAPI founder network is tight. Did Dave Lu’s AAPI network facilitate the allocation?
- Hyphen was founded in 2020 — same year as Project Covalence. The fund is very new relative to the other Series C participants (Sequoia, Thrive, Doerr). How did a 1-year-old seed fund get into a growth-stage round with Altman and Moritz?
Sources
- [Archive] WaveUp — Hyphen Capital profile (AAPI focus, Dave Lu, 38+ investments, Persona unicorn): https://hub.waveup.com/funds/hyphen-capital
- [Archive] Tracxn — Hyphen Capital (founded 2020, 47 companies, seed focus): https://tracxn.com/d/venture-capital/hyphen-capital/__Byp9Y1IoYUVSwPdqqN90pltxJOsu-KTxoF_Yyw3VRjo
- [Archive] Medium/Dave Lu — “The Hyphen Portfolio: Our First 6 Investments” — syndicate includes Twitch, YouTube, Patreon founders (May 2021): https://medium.com/hyphen-capital-blog/the-hyphen-portfolio-our-first-6-investments-5804d07b1fda
This analysis does not constitute evidence of illegal action. The opinions expressed here are the professional opinions and analytical conclusions of the author, a published corporate ethics researcher and analyst specializing in business leadership ethics, governance structures, and nonprofit compliance. Readers are encouraged to examine the primary sources cited above and draw their own conclusions.
A conflict does not become less important because it was routed through a quieter entity. It becomes more important to map.
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