Participated · Series A · Oct 2025

UMe Tea is a beverage brand founded in California in 2019 that sells milk-cap teas, fruit teas, baked desserts and snacks across roughly 30 SKUs. The chain has expanded from nine outlets in 2023 to 27 company-operated locations today, with only three pilot franchises. About 60% of its customers are non-Asian and average per-store sales have climbed roughly 30% year-over-year. Flagship items such as classic bubble tea, mango and matcha drinks, and a salted crispy chicken side dish (which accounts for 30% of sales) drive traffic, while new products are introduced twice monthly. A partnership with a large U.S. food-service supply-chain provider handles raw-material sourcing, warehousing and transport, allowing the brand to centralize operations. Management plans to deepen its Bay Area presence to 33 stores by the end of 2025 and ultimately sees potential for several hundred California locations, supported by investments in team building, digital tools and supply-chain upgrades.

Participated · Series A · Sep 2022

Waysia began in Paris (previously known as Alorsfaim) and pivoted from restaurant delivery to an online Asian grocery model after COVID-19 created supply mismatches. The company now runs its own warehouse and procures directly from suppliers, including farms in the Netherlands, France and Spain. The pivot boosted revenues and helped triple order volume year‑over‑year as of July. Waysia reports an average basket size often exceeding €70, reflecting weekly ethnic grocery shopping patterns and lower per‑order delivery costs. The startup prioritizes user growth before profitability and plans to use new capital to expand into the U.K. market. It currently serves 16 cities across France, Belgium and Luxembourg with a team of about 50 employees. Founded in 2018 by Yejun Fan and Yingfeng Li, Alorsfaim began as a meal delivery service with collaborations across more than 600 Asian restaurants before pivoting to e-grocery in March 2020. The company launched an e-grocery delivery service to ensure the Asian community’s access to high-quality ingredients and moved to cut out third-party suppliers by building its own warehouse and inventory management system. In under a year after that move, Alorsfaim expanded to service five regions in France and three cities in Belgium. That expansion coincided with 10x revenue year-over-year. The new €4 million seed funding will be used to further develop logistics operations and expand the team. Alorsfaim aims to continue rapid expansion across the Asian-food consumer community in France and Europe amid a competitive landscape noted by peers like HungryPanda.

Led · Seed · Mar 2021

Cheese offers a digital banking platform and Debit Mastercard aimed at Asian-Americans and immigrants, including customers with no credit history. The product provides instant virtual cards, advance pay up to two days early with direct deposit, a $5 signup bonus, a 0.3% APY, and up to 10% cash back at over 10,000 merchants. Accounts are FDIC insured through Coastal Community Bank and include Mastercard Zero Liability, identity-theft protection, multi-factor authentication, and 256-bit encryption. Cheese pairs banking with a social-impact program, pledging $100,000 to the Cheese Giveback Fund and committing donations tied to signups and purchases; initial nonprofit grants and efforts will focus on San Francisco, Los Angeles, and New York City with plans to expand to other cities. The company has named actor and advocate Jimmy Wong as Chief Community Ambassador to drive community outreach and partnerships. To date Cheese has raised seed funding and is positioning its product around accessibility, security, rewards, and community support.

Participated · Series B · May 2018

BorderX Lab operates a mobile app and platform that enables consumers to discover and purchase authentic consumer goods and lifestyle products from American and European brands. The platform focuses on fashion, beauty, healthcare and lifestyle categories and connects those brands with the middle class in China, with plans to expand to other regions. Led by CEO and co-founder Dr. Albert Shen, the company partners with more than 50 merchants, including Saks, Peter Thomas Roth, Finish Line, Forzieri and Everlane. BorderX Lab is headquartered in Sunnyvale and also maintains offices in Shanghai. The company intends to use recent funding to drive international expansion, build new platform features to improve customer experience, and continue hiring team members in Sunnyvale and Shanghai. The article reports the company raised $20m in Series B financing.