Gary Rieschel
About Gary Rieschel
Gary Rieschel is the founding managing partner of Qiming Venture Partners. He launched the firm in Shanghai in 2006 with partner Duane Kuang. Before Qiming he held executive positions at Intel, Sequent Computer Systems and Cisco, and in 1995 he formed Softbank's U.S. venture group, Softbank Venture Capital.
While at Softbank he sponsored several early Chinese VC firms, including Softbank China Ventures (2000), SAIF Partners (2001) and Ceyuan Ventures (2004). He moved to China in 2005. In 2016 he and his wife moved back to the U.S. and settled in Seattle. In 2017 he launched Qiming's first U.S.-focused fund.
He holds a BA in biology from Reed College, where he is a trustee, and an MBA from Harvard Business School. He chairs the Asia Society Northern California advisory board and serves on the boards of the Atlantic Council and the Climate Leadership Council, among others.
Public databases list a small number of personal investments. Crunchbase lists three: an angel round in MailTime, a pre-seed round in Special Project, and RoboForce. NFX Signal dates the MailTime round to January 2014 and the Special Project round to March 2020. Both sites give the total round size, not Rieschel's own check.
Most of his investing is done through Qiming rather than personally.
RoboForce is the AI investment on record. The Milpitas, California company, founded in 2023, builds physical AI robots for industrial labor. Its Titan mobile manipulator is aimed at work such as solar farm construction, data center maintenance, mining and logistics.
In March 2026 RoboForce announced a $52 million round led by YZi Labs. Press coverage names Rieschel as an existing investor taking part. Total funding to date was reported as $67 million. Databases label his earlier RoboForce investment as a January 2025 round.
Qiming invests in technology and healthcare. It is best known for early-stage investing in China, and for healthcare investing in the U.S. through Qiming US. The Wire China reports that Qiming US has raised $550 million across three funds and invested in 30 healthcare technology companies. Rieschel himself has been described as investing in healthcare and cleantech.
He has not publicly stated a personal check size. NFX Signal, a third-party listing, shows an investment range of $100K to $5.0M with a $1.5M sweet spot. Treat that as an estimate, not a stated policy. His personal AI investment on record is in robotics, not software.
- RoboForce: physical AI robots for industrial labor; existing investor in the $52M round announced March 2026.
- MailTime: email app; angel round listed in January 2014.
- Special Project: pre-seed round listed in March 2020.
- Madaket Health: Qiming led a Series B in 2018 (Crunchbase), and Rieschel is listed as a board member.
- LanzaTech: carbon recycling company; Qiming invested in Series B, C and D rounds (NFX Signal, 2010 to 2014).
- LP Amina: Qiming invested in Series A, B and C rounds (NFX Signal, 2008 to 2013).
- dohaforum.org/speakers/gary-rieschel
- thewirechina.com/2026/02/15/bridging-the-pacific-qiming-venture-partne
- qimingvc.com/en/news/qa-qiming-venture-partners-gary-rieschel
- asiasociety.org/seattle/advisory-council
- cnas.org/people/gary-rieschel
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qiming_Venture_Partners
- siliconangle.com/2026/03/16/roboforce-raises-52m-develop-physical-ai-r
- therobotreport.com/roboforce-raises-52m-to-commercialize-its-titan-rob
Investing activity
Gary Rieschel appears in 1 AI deal tracked by the Lounge deals desk, rounds totalling $52M. The rounds are mostly Seed, with a median round size of $52M. The most recent is RoboForce (Seed, $52M, Mar 2026).
Gary Rieschel most often invests alongside YZi Labs, Jerry Yang, Myron Scholes and Carnegie Mellon University, and the companies they back on Lounge are mostly in AI.
Deals
Frequently asked questions about Gary Rieschel
Does Gary Rieschel invest in AI startups?
Yes, on a small scale. He is an existing investor in RoboForce, a physical AI robotics company that announced a $52M round in March 2026. No other personal AI investments are listed publicly.
What is Gary Rieschel's typical check size?
He has not publicly stated one. NFX Signal lists a $100K to $5.0M range with a $1.5M sweet spot, but this is a third-party estimate.
What stage does Gary Rieschel invest in?
His personal investments on record are angel, pre-seed and seed rounds, and he is also listed in later rounds such as RoboForce's. Qiming, his firm, focuses on early-stage deals.
Who is Gary Rieschel?
He is the founding managing partner of Qiming Venture Partners, which he started in Shanghai in 2006. He previously created Softbank's U.S. venture group and held executive roles at Cisco, Sequent and Intel.
Which sectors does Gary Rieschel back?
Qiming invests in technology and healthcare, with U.S. activity centered on healthcare technology. Rieschel has also been associated with cleantech. His AI investment on record is in robotics.
Is Gary Rieschel an angel investor?
Yes. Gary Rieschel invests personally as an angel.
What AI companies has Gary Rieschel invested in?
Gary Rieschel's AI investments include RoboForce. The 1 round on Lounge are listed on this page with amounts, dates and co-investors.
What stage does Gary Rieschel invest at?
In the rounds tracked on Lounge, Gary Rieschel has invested at Seed, with a median round of $52M.
Who does Gary Rieschel co-invest with?
Gary Rieschel's most frequent co-investors on Lounge are YZi Labs (1 deal), Jerry Yang (1 deal), Myron Scholes (1 deal) and Carnegie Mellon University (1 deal).
How can founders reach Gary Rieschel?
Founders on Lounge can see Gary Rieschel's contact details in AI Investor Contacts (paid plans), check for a warm introduction through members who worked with them under Warm Paths, and add Gary Rieschel to their Investor Pipeline to track the conversation.