Andrew Zhai
About Andrew Zhai
Andrew Zhai is a machine learning engineer based in the San Francisco Bay Area. His X profile lists him as ML at Cursor, ex-founder of Alisa (acquired) and ex-Pinterest, and says he is a Stanford and Berkeley graduate.
He spent about nine years at Pinterest. Crunchbase lists him as a Senior Staff Software Engineer and Tech Lead there. In a January 2024 post he said he started building vector databases at Berkeley in 2013. He also co-authored Pinterest papers on recommendation systems, including TransAct, which was accepted to the KDD'23 ADS track.
After Pinterest he co-founded Genova Labs, which made Alisa. TechCrunch describes him as a co-founder of Genova Labs, and his X bio notes that Alisa was acquired.
The only angel investment publicly tied to Andrew Zhai is the GRAI seed round, announced in April 2026. Crunchbase lists one personal investment for him. No other angel investments, fund affiliations or investing statements were found in public sources.
GRAI is a Warsaw-based AI music startup. According to TechCrunch, it raised a $9M seed round co-led by Khosla Ventures and Inovo.vc. Andrew Zhai took part as an angel. Other participants named in the announcement include Tensor Ventures, Flyer One Ventures and the a16z Scout Fund. The angels named alongside him include Greg Tkachenko, Rob Reid and Dima Shvets. The Lounge deals desk records this as a led AI round.
Andrew Zhai has not published a thesis, preferred stages or a check size. The one known deal is a seed-stage AI consumer product, and his own background is in machine learning, recommendation systems, embedding search and AI products. His check size in GRAI is not public.
- GRAI: Warsaw-based AI music startup building tools to remix and share existing tracks. Andrew Zhai joined its $9M seed round as an angel, announced April 2026.
Investing activity
Andrew Zhai appears in 1 AI deal tracked by the Lounge deals desk, and led 1 of them. The rounds are mostly Seed, with a median round size of $9M. The most recent is GRAI (Seed, $9M, Oct 2026).
Andrew Zhai most often invests alongside Greg Tkachenko, Rob Reid, a16z Scout Fund and Dima Shvets, and the companies they back on Lounge are mostly in AI.
Deals
Frequently asked questions about Andrew Zhai
Who is Andrew Zhai?
Andrew Zhai is a machine learning engineer at Cursor. He previously spent about nine years at Pinterest and co-founded Genova Labs, which made Alisa.
What AI startups has Andrew Zhai invested in?
The only public investment found is GRAI, an AI music remix startup. He joined its $9M seed round as an angel, announced in April 2026.
What is Andrew Zhai's angel check size?
His check size has not been made public. Crunchbase and the GRAI announcements do not list his amount.
What stage does Andrew Zhai invest in?
The only documented investment is a seed round. He has not published a stated stage focus.
Does Andrew Zhai have operating experience in AI?
Yes. He worked on recommendation and embedding-search systems at Pinterest, and he co-founded Genova Labs. He now works on ML at Cursor.
How can founders contact Andrew Zhai?
He is on X as @ZhaiAndrew and on LinkedIn. He has not published a personal investing site or a pitch process.
Is Andrew Zhai an angel investor?
Yes. Andrew Zhai invests personally as an angel.
What AI companies has Andrew Zhai invested in?
Andrew Zhai's AI investments include GRAI. The 1 round on Lounge are listed on this page with amounts, dates and co-investors.
What stage does Andrew Zhai invest at?
In the rounds tracked on Lounge, Andrew Zhai has invested at Seed, with a median round of $9M. Andrew Zhai led 1 of those rounds.
Who does Andrew Zhai co-invest with?
Andrew Zhai's most frequent co-investors on Lounge are Greg Tkachenko (1 deal), Rob Reid (1 deal), a16z Scout Fund (1 deal), Dima Shvets (1 deal) and Flyer One Ventures (1 deal).