Hyphen Capital
About Hyphen Capital
Hyphen Capital began in the summer of 2020. Its founder wrote that he planned a small angel syndicate with friends, and an announcement post on LinkedIn drew over 200,000 views. Third-party profiles say Dave Lu leads the firm. VC Sheet describes the lead as a Silicon Valley founder and operator whose past companies include Fanpop and Pared. Crunchbase describes Hyphen as a syndicate for AAPI founders. Its limited partners include founders and executives such as Katrina Lake of Stitch Fix and Steve Chen of YouTube. Hyphen is based in San Francisco. Fund names and fund sizes are not publicly disclosed in the sources we found.
Hyphen does not run a separate AI fund. It invests across sectors including enterprise software, fintech, consumer and AI, with the AAPI founder community as its main source of deal flow. AI is one of the sectors its profiles list. Its first six investments in 2020 included Poised, an AI-enabled communication assistant. Later listings include Booth.ai, which raised a seed round in 2023. Aggregator pages also list AI application startups such as Gamma, Rosie AI and Riley AI. On the Lounge deals desk, Hyphen appears in two 2026 rounds. Ploy raised a $27M seed in June 2026, a round that press reports say First Round Capital and Y Combinator led. Fish Audio raised a $52M seed in July 2026, led by Coreline Ventures and Capital Today according to TechCrunch.
Hyphen mostly invests at seed, and it lists pre-seed through later stages. The pipeseed aggregator reports first checks of $50,000 to $500,000. This figure is not confirmed by Hyphen itself. The firm's own early post said it had invested over $1 million across its first six companies. Pipeseed says the firm has led only about 3% of its rounds, which suggests it usually joins rounds that others lead. Hyphen's own site does not state check sizes.
- Ploy: AI growth platform from Webflow co-founder Bryant Chou, $27M seed in June 2026
- Fish Audio: AI voice models for creators and enterprises, $52M seed in July 2026
- Poised: AI-enabled communication assistant, one of Hyphen's first six investments in 2020
- Booth.ai: AI company with a seed round in 2023
- Gamma: AI presentation platform, listed in Hyphen's portfolio
- Rosie AI: AI agent for Excel modeling, listed in Hyphen's portfolio
- medium.com/hyphen-capital-blog/the-hyphen-portfolio-our-first-6-invest
- vcsheet.com/fund/hyphen-capital
- crunchbase.com/organization/hyphen-capital
- hub.waveup.com/funds/hyphen-capital
- pipeseed.com/investor/hyphen-capital-808260
- startuphub.ai/investors/hyphen-capital
- techcrunch.com/2026/07/28/fish-audio-raises-50m-seed-to-build-ai-voice
- pulse2.com/ploy-raises-27-million-seed-round-to-launch-ai-growth-platf
Investing activity
Hyphen Capital appears in 2 AI deals tracked by the Lounge deals desk, rounds totalling $79M. The rounds are mostly Seed, with a median round size of $52M. The most recent are Fish Audio (Seed, $52M, Jul 2026) and Ploy (Seed, $27M, Jun 2026).
Hyphen Capital most often invests alongside Coreline Ventures, Capital Today, 359 Capital and Carya Venture Partners, and the companies it backs on Lounge are mostly in AI.
Deals
Frequently asked questions about Hyphen Capital
Who founded Hyphen Capital and when?
Hyphen Capital was started in the summer of 2020 as an angel syndicate for Asian American founders. Third-party profiles name Dave Lu as its leader.
Does Hyphen Capital invest in AI startups?
Yes. AI is one of the sectors Hyphen lists, next to fintech, consumer and enterprise software. Its AI investments include Poised, Booth.ai, Ploy and Fish Audio.
What check size does Hyphen Capital write?
Pipeseed reports first checks of $50,000 to $500,000, but Hyphen does not publish this itself. The firm mostly invests at seed.
Does Hyphen Capital only back AAPI founders?
Its stated mission is to invest in Asian American and Pacific Islander founders, and its network supplies much of its deal flow. Check hyphencap.com for current eligibility.
How large is Hyphen Capital's fund?
Fund sizes are not public in the sources we found. Crunchbase describes Hyphen as a syndicate, not a traditional fund.
What AI companies has Hyphen Capital invested in?
Hyphen Capital's AI investments include Fish Audio and Ploy. The 2 rounds on Lounge are listed on this page with amounts, dates and co-investors.
What stage does Hyphen Capital invest at?
In the rounds tracked on Lounge, Hyphen Capital has invested at Seed, with a median round of $52M.
Who does Hyphen Capital co-invest with?
Hyphen Capital's most frequent co-investors on Lounge are Coreline Ventures (1 deal), Capital Today (1 deal), 359 Capital (1 deal), Carya Venture Partners (1 deal) and HF0 (1 deal).
How can founders reach Hyphen Capital?
Founders on Lounge can see Hyphen Capital's contact details in AI Investor Contacts (paid plans), check for a warm introduction through members who worked with the firm under Warm Paths, and add Hyphen Capital to their Investor Pipeline to track the conversation.