Shima Capital

General Partner Yida Gao is the sole decision-maker on investment committee, drawing from his prior roles at NEO Global Capital and Divergence Digital Currency. The fund's original structure included multiple partners; however, post-2023 restructuring, Gao assumed final approval authority on all capital calls and allocation decisions.

Shima moved its principal office from the San Francisco Bay Area to San Juan primarily to operate under Puerto Rico's Act 60 tax framework, which offers significant capital gains and corporate tax advantages to qualifying resident investors. The jurisdiction also enables the firm to execute token warrant agreements and SAFT structures with fewer intermediary regulatory complications than mainland US-based peers face.

Shima targets pre-seed and seed-stage rounds with initial checks ranging from $500,000 to $2 million. The firm favors solo-capitalized rounds at the earliest stages, reserving capital for follow-on participation in subsequent priced equity or token rounds only when a portfolio company meets specific protocol adoption and developer activity milestones.

Yes. Shima structures investments through direct equity, Simple Agreements for Future Tokens (SAFTs), and token warrant agreements. The firm's core vehicle permits exposure to both equity upside and liquid token holdings, a structure that necessitates ongoing segregation of its capital base between illiquid and liquid asset pools.

Shima does not participate in climate tech, biotech, or traditional enterprise SaaS, concentrating exclusively on Web3-native verticals. Within Web3, the firm has publicly avoided NFTs and metaverse-specific plays since mid-2022, redirecting allocations toward modular blockchain infrastructure and real-world asset tokenization protocols instead.

Gao leveraged relationships built during his tenure at NEO Global Capital and Divergence Digital Currency to anchor the 2021 fundraise. The $200 million vehicle closed oversubscribed behind commitments from institutional family offices, hedge fund operators, and a concentrated group of tech founders — with Ackman and Andreessen participating as individual limited partners rather than through their primary investment firms.

Following an initial hiring push to over 20 professionals during the 2021-2022 fundraising and deployment phase, Shima reduced headcount markedly through 2023 as part of a deliberate shift toward a leaner general-partner-led model. The restructuring coincided with Gao consolidating investment committee authority and trimming non-investment operational staff to lower the fund's expense ratio during a prolonged crypto market contraction.