Today I’m happy to announce that Cherubic Ventures has closed its sixth fund at $68.88 million.  The fund size reflects the auspicious meaning of the number eight in East Asian cultures, where it is traditionally associated with prosperity and good fortune. With Fund VI in place, total assets under management across our six funds have passed $500 million.

Fund VI means more to me than the amount raised. Ten years in, I’m even more certain about why I love early-stage investing. My greatest satisfaction comes from working alongside exceptional founders as they find their way through uncertainty and ultimately change an industry.

Before the world believes

Companies that genuinely change the world rarely start with good numbers, a finished product, or market consensus. Sometimes it’s a few people and an idea that sounds too early, too hard, or a little crazy.

The best founders, I think, are often the ones who notice a shift before most people do, and see an opportunity others haven’t recognized yet. They use new technology and new approaches to turn that view of the future into something real.

Industries and technologies have kept changing since Cherubic started in 2015, but I’ve always been looking for the same kind of founder: someone who sees new possibilities in change and has the conviction to make them real.

That’s why we remain committed to investing early: to be there with founders while the product is still unproven and the direction is unclear, working through trial and error together until we find the way forward.

Ten years alongside founders, finding the way through uncertainty

Ten years ago, when I started investing in early-stage startups globally from Taipei, no one knew whether a venture capital firm from Taiwan could reach the center of Silicon Valley, or whether the solo GP model could hold up across different market cycles.

I built Cherubic as a solo GP so I could judge independently, decide quickly, and be there early when I truly believe in a founder. Over ten years, that has shaped how I invest:

Judge independently. Don’t wait for signals.
As a solo GP, I don’t wait for an investment committee or for the market to move. When I believe in a founder, I can decide fast.

Start with the founder.
What I spend the most time understanding is how a founder sees the change underway, what they want to redefine, and why they’re the one with a shot at doing it.

From the first check.
I want to be there when a founder most needs someone to believe in them, and to stay with them from the earliest stage onward.

Stay through the uncertainty.
Early-stage investing happens before anything is settled. From the first check, I want to stay close to the founder and keep adjusting as we learn.

Ten years on, Cherubic has backed more than 200 companies worldwide. I was lucky to meet Hims & Hers, Flexport, Calm, Paidy, 91APP and Astranis while they were still early. Many of the startups I’ve backed have since gone public, become unicorns, or been acquired, and have built global influence.. Back then, all of them were just getting started, with their futures still full of uncertainty.

AI is reshaping industries, and the next generation of great companies is already forming

We’re at another major technological turning point. AI will be like the internet, smartphones, or cloud computing, becoming an underlying platform that reshapes industries. It will make existing companies more efficient and make possible a new set of companies that were previously hard to imagine.

Software is starting to do work on its own. Machines are starting to understand the physical world. Healthcare is moving toward earlier predictions. A company that once took hundreds of people to build may one day be built by a team of just over ten, and the problems founders take on will change with it.

Through this technological shift, I continue to look for founders who are redefining markets. Since 2024, the AI-native companies I’ve backed span infrastructure, developer tools, enterprise software, healthcare, physical AI and robotics, exploring what AI makes possible.

Fund VI is still early, but we’re already seeing some promising signs. The portfolio has attracted more than $500 million in follow-on funding. The companies I’ve backed include Entire, the developer platform founded by former GitHub CEO Thomas Dohmke; the robotics company Sudo AI; the AI patent technology platform Patlytics; and Max AI, Generation Lab and therapiAI, which are using AI to rework healthcare workflows and drug development.

Entire raised one of the largest seed rounds ever in developer tools. Sudo AI, founded about two years ago, is now valued at close to $2 billion. Its sudo R1 robotic system is trained through virtual simulation and can reliably handle objects it has never encountered without relying on real-world manipulation data.

Conviction before consensus

The past ten years have made me even more certain that believing in a founder before the answers are clear, and staying with them, is an important part of early-stage investing. To me, that’s conviction before consensus. It’s what Cherubic has done for ten years, and what we’ll continue with Fund VI.

Over that time, we’ve built a wider global network of founders, and some of my most important investments have grown out of relationships built over years.

Fund VI is the start of Cherubic’s second decade. Two things won’t change in the decade ahead: stay early, and keep building the future we want to see alongside exceptional founders.

The next companies to truly change the world may not have taken shape yet. If you’re working to make the future you believe in real, I hope I get the chance to build it with you.

Investors across all six funds include leading global institutional investors and foundations, as well as publicly listed companies, family offices, successful entrepreneurs and high-net-worth individuals.

Fund VI maintains the firm’s early-stage focus, investing in AI-native companies across infrastructure, developer tools, enterprise software, healthcare, physical AI and robotics. Sudo AI, a robotics startup in the portfolio, has reached a valuation of nearly $2 billion two years after its founding, joining the ranks of unicorns.

“After ten years, I am more certain than ever about why I chose to invest at the earliest stages,” said Matt Cheng, Founder & Solo GP of Cherubic Ventures. “Working alongside exceptional founders, finding a path through uncertainty, and ultimately changing an industry is what keeps driving me.”

Investing Across AI, From Infrastructure to Industry Applications

As AI reshapes industries, Cherubic Ventures continues to look for founders using the technology to build new products and redefine markets. Since 2024, the firm’s AI-native investments have spanned infrastructure, developer tools, enterprise software, healthcare, physical AI and robotics.

In robotics, Sudo AI was co-founded by Hao Su, a leading researcher in embodied AI and 3D vision and co-author of PointNet, and serial entrepreneur Robin Han. Its sudo R1 robotic system is trained through virtual simulation and can reliably handle objects it has never encountered without relying on real-world manipulation data. This addresses a key bottleneck to deploying robotics at scale. Cherubic Ventures was its earliest institutional investor.

Cherubic Ventures is also an early investor in Entire, the developer platform founded by former GitHub CEO Thomas Dohmke. The company raised US$60 million earlier this year, the largest seed round ever for a developer tools startup.

While Fund VI is still at an early stage, its portfolio companies have already raised more than $500 million in subsequent funding. Other notable investments include AI-powered patent technology platform Patlytics, along with healthcare and drug development companies Max AI, Generation Lab and therapiAI.

A Decade Alongside Founders, Supporting the Next Generation

Founded in 2015, Cherubic Ventures was among the first venture firms in the world to adopt the solo GP model. It has invested in more than 200 companies globally, with early investments including Hims & Hers, Flexport, Calm, Paidy, 91APP and Astranis. 

Across its portfolio, Cherubic Ventures has been the earliest institutional investors in dozens of companies that went on to become unicorns. Hims & Hers is listed on the New York Stock Exchange and 91APP on the Taipei Exchange, while Paidy was acquired by PayPal for US$2.7 billion.

Fund VI marks the beginning of Cherubic Ventures’ second decade. “The past ten years have made me more certain that believing in founders before the answers are clear, and backing them through uncertainty, is at the heart of early-stage investing,” Cheng said. “In the next decade, we will continue to ‘Stay Early’ and work with the most exceptional founders to build the future we want to see.”

Although we see bright possibilities for the sector, businesses still face challenges such as language barriers and fragmented logistics networks, and unpredictable challenges. To address these issues, we recently held an online panel discussion with two of Cherubic’s portfolio founders, Floship CEO Joshua Tsui and GLOSKU CEO Kevin Zhao. Here we’ve organized some of the highlights:

The cross-border eCommerce industry is expanding. China’s eCommerce market is anticipated to recover by the latter half of 2023. 

With the pandemic subsiding, consumers and brands are exploring opportunities beyond their domestic markets. With consumer spending power in China and Southeast Asia on the rise, the cross-border eCommerce markets in those regions in particular are also expected to see growth, albeit at a slower pace than the peak years of 2019 and 2020. China’s market, which experienced a decline from the end of 2021 until the end of 2022, is slowly recovering, with a full recovery anticipated in the second half of 2023, though the market may still face the impacts of macroeconomic instability. 

Market slowly rebounds in China. SEA markets are growing rapidly.

As the unemployment rate drops in China, confidence is growing. We see a market rebound slowly starting in the travel and F&B areas. Shoppers are also increasingly interested in buying foreign brands, such as imported cosmetics, consumption and requirements.

In Southeast Asian countries, we see a growth rate of 20% to 25% in eCommerce year-on-year. While China is still the market leader, global brands are also looking to diversify their manufacturing and set up production in countries throughout the SEA region, thereby supporting the growth of these markets.

However, while Western brands are welcomed, success in their home market does not guarantee success in Asia, as foreign companies need to consider factors such as pricing, products, and advertising. 

Social eCommerce trends are reducing barriers and encouraging brands to expand their reach across borders.

Trends like social eCommerce are also driving brands to sell in Asian markets, with social media platforms such as Xiaohongshu providing a way to reach a wider range of users. These platforms enable Asian users to explore overseas brands and consumer products. And with eCommerce integration on social platforms like WeChat, Asian consumers can find the best deals in one app. 

Macroeconomic pressure is also requiring brands to be more conservative and cost-conscious when entering new overseas markets. That’s why solutions that help companies to reduce risk are in high demand. Finding a balance between targeting individuals and concentrating on specific markets is also pivotal. 

Meanwhile, Chinese brands that are trying to establish themselves overseas are decreasing their reliance on eCommerce platforms like Amazon and are instead using their own online platforms such as Instagram or TikTok to increase their brand awareness.   

Cooperating with partners is crucial to success. Partnerships can make cross-border eCommerce operations smoother, lower uncertainty, and ensure scalability.

Sometimes brands rely too heavily on online marketplaces when entering international markets because it’s the easier option – however, this approach doesn’t lead to long-term success. Thus, finding the right partners is essential for brands entering cross-border markets. Partners such as Floship and GLOSKU can simplify the work of navigating tedious and complicated supply chains and support marketing enablement in local channels.

Floship is experienced in taking other brands to international markets, specializing in helping small brands grow globally, with many growing from the crowdfunding stage to unicorns. With an understanding of supply chain duties, taxes, and customs, Floship can provide brands with transparency on how data works and how to succeed in these markets, not only in terms of fulfillment but also in terms of strategy.

GLOSKU was created to address the challenges and mistakes that brands encounter when entering China marketplaces directly without assistance. Helping companies to find an entry point that suits their brand with a step-by-step approach, GLOSKU offers businesses flexibility and support through different growth stages, enabling them to scale into the market. One of its clients went from 0 orders per day to over 1,300 orders per day within a week – GLOSKU helped them scale their services and transition from a mini retail app to their own platform. 

I can’t describe how emotional it is for me to share this milestone. As someone who spent the greater portion of his life on the ballfield, I never imagined that I would become an angel investor, let alone the founder of a global venture capital firm.

I remember when we started out in 2014 and were still putting our team together, I met with a multitude of US mainstream institutional LPs. We were of course shot down many times, but one time in particular left a deep impression when an investor looked me straight in the eyes and said: “It is literally impossible for you to raise money from institutional investors.” 

I think a lot of people when being handed such a blunt rejection would give up right there, but on a gut instinct I instead reacted with a question: “Then what should I do?” The funny thing is, after I asked my question, this particular investor came to like us, and even though they didn’t invest in us at the time, they eventually became a great friend and mentor.  

Somehow, we eventually managed to scratch together the capital for our first fund. Then, we set a unique and ambitious strategic direction: investing in the US and Asia at the same time! The thinking behind this plan was quite simple – if these were the two biggest markets with the most potential, then we should of course invest in teams from both. 

Not surprisingly, in executing this bold idea we came up against a lot of challenges. With most funds only focusing on one region, we found cross-market investing to be a bigger test of resource integration and management. Fortunately for us, we encountered a lot of people over the last eight years who believed in and supported us on the journey to today’s milestone. Since our founding, we’ve invested in over 150 startups from across the world, among them 10 companies that went on to be unicorns and over 27 that launched successful exits. Most importantly, for many of those companies, we were one of their earliest investors.

2021 was an especially significant year for Cherubic. Two of our portfolio unicorns went public and another was acquired by a huge global company, all of them becoming benchmarks in their respective markets. 

Established just five years ago, telehealth startup Him & Hers went public on the New York Stock Exchange, becoming the fastest-growing healthcare startup in the US. Meanwhile, omnichannel eCommerce solution provider 91APP became Taiwan’s first unicorn to launch an IPO on the Taiwan Stock Exchange, an accomplishment that attracted the attention of many overseas investors to Taiwan. Lastly, the Japanese buy now pay later platform Paidy was acquired by PayPal for $2.7 billion dollars. 

In addition, our number of unicorns doubled in 2021. Flexport, the leader in digital transformation for the logistics sector, hit USD$ 8 billion in valuation. Space startup and low-cost telecommunications satellites provider Astranis along with Tezign, the pioneering Contech startup in China, also reached unicorn status.

We are so lucky to have worked with these amazing startup teams from day one, to have had a front-row seat to their growth, and to have played a part in helping them realize their dreams. And in terms of our own journey, even though we picked a rougher road to travel, we still made it to today! One point that brings me particular satisfaction is to see that for our Fund V, our investors not only continued their funding, but continually increased the amount they were willing to contribute.  

Remember that investor that told me I would never raise a penny? Years after our meeting, while Cherubic was in the middle of another fundraising round, this person called me up and said:  “Matt, I think you’re ready, and we are also ready. We’ve decided to invest in you.” I can only say that some tears fell onto my phone. To receive this kind of validation not only made me see that all the effort was worth it, but it also filled me with gratitude for everyone that had ever put their faith in me.

Those who know me or read my blogs might notice how I keep coming back to the importance of “Never Stop Believing”. Perhaps the idea sounds overly romantic, but only on the faith of investors do those startups with nothing but their unique ideas and a drive to make the world better have a chance to realize their dreams. 

Reflecting on my own journey from athlete to entrepreneur to investor, if so many people hadn’t put their faith in me, there would be no Cherubic Ventures. That’s why I want our company to keep paying the power of that faith forward with our Fund V and investing in pre-product/market fit.

Our strategy goes beyond good faith investment to helping our portfolio teams grow through our strong global network of resources. It also gives us a practical edge ahead of many top-tier institutional investors by being the first to invest in companies that go on to be unicorns in their industries. A few examples: the world’s #1 sleep meditation app Calm, the leader in digital transformation of the logistics industry Flexport, Croatia’s biggest Edtech startup Photomath, Women’s physical and mental health startup Bellabeat, and Chaldal, the largest grocery delivery platform in Bangladesh. 

I’ll also mention that we have reserved 50% of our Fund V to support high-performing teams into later, even pre-IPO rounds.

Eight years already! Every day when I wake up, realizing I get to work with the smartest group of people in the world, brainstorm solutions to our challenges together, and make the future brighter, I feel filled with excitement and gratitude. 

I also want to take this opportunity to thank our founders, investors, Cherubic staff, and partners in the Cherubic community. Without all of you, we could not have reached this milestone. Each one of you is very important to Cherubic’s growth journey, and I am honored to have walked with all of you!

2021 is the seventh year since Cherubic’s founding back in 2014 and it has proven itself to be the most exciting year so far! It’s just an unimaginable ride for us. I guess “lucky 7” is true! 

It seem like yesterday when I was having a coffee with Andrew (the founder of Hims & Hers) and listening to his idea for starting up a new business. In just short 4 years, Hims & Hers is already the all-time fastest-growing healthcare startup in the U.S. and IPOed on NYSE! 

In 2005, I started a company with Happy and Sean, and then we met Steven who shared the same vision as us and therefore we merged our companies to become 91APP. This year, 91APP has become the most successful IPOed startup and also the very first homegrown SaaS unicorn in Taiwan! 

Paidy, one of our portfolios in Japan, started out as a P2P lending platform and pivoted several times along the journey to become Japan’s leading BNPL platform. Paypal announced that it will acquire Paidy at $2.7B this year, making it a record-high among Japanese startups exits! 

In addition to the three amazing teams above, there are two other new unicorns born in the Cherubic family in 2021, and they are — Astranis and Tezign! 

While celebrating the outstanding performances of our current portfolios, we are also exploring new opportunities to ride on into future technology trends. Some of the blockchain portfolios we invested in earlier this year have even achieved amazing milestones already! For example, XY Finance and Highstreet launched their own NFT projects, IDOed, and also listed on Binance. 

All of these magical milestones wouldn’t have been possible without the trust from our investors and of course the hard work of the teams! I would like to take this chance to thank all of the friends who have helped us and believed in us! WE MADE IT!