# YK Bioventures

YK Bioventures is a Venture Capital based in Burlingame, United States.

## Overview

- **Organization type:** Venture Capital
- **Headquarters:** Burlingame, United States
- **Region:** North America
- **Address:** Palo Alto, CA, United States
- **Founded:** 2020
- **Assets under management:** $50M–$150M (Altss estimate)
- **Website:** ykbioventures.com
- **LinkedIn:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/yk-bioventures

## Regulatory record

- **CRD number:** 332081
- **SEC file number:** 802-131248
- **Registration status:** Registered
- **Reports private funds:** Yes
- **IAPD record:** https://adviserinfo.sec.gov/firm/summary/332081

## About

YK Bioventures is an exempt reporting adviser based in Burlingame, CA. It advises on investments. The firm focuses on biotechnology and life sciences.

## Sectors

- Digital Health
- AI/ML
- Enterprise Software
- Healthcare Services

## Offices

- Menlo Park, CA
- Greenwich, CT
- New York, NY
- Burlingame, CA
- San Francisco, CA
- Cambridge, MA
- Philadelphia, PA
- New Haven, CT
- Beijing, China

## People

- Michael Chen — Co-Founder and Managing Partner
- Timothy Lu — Co-Founder and Managing Partner

## Questions

### Who runs investment decisions at YK Bioventures?

Investment decisions are made by co-founders Michael Chen and Timothy Lu, who serve as managing partners. Both hold active academic appointments — Chen at Stanford in bioengineering and Lu at MIT in biological engineering. The firm operates without a large investment committee structure, allowing the partners to move quickly on early-stage scientific opportunities they evaluate directly.

### How does YK Bioventures source proprietary deal flow?

The firm sources deal flow primarily through the founders' academic networks at Stanford, MIT, and affiliated institutions. Both principals actively publish and peer-review in synthetic biology and CRISPR-related fields, giving them early visibility into lab-stage discoveries. This embedded model allows the firm to engage with scientific teams before they formally seek venture funding, often leading to pre-seed rounds where traditional firms are absent.

### Which sectors does YK Bioventures explicitly avoid?

YK Bioventures has not publicly stated sector exclusions, but its disclosed portfolio demonstrates a tight focus on therapeutics enabled by synthetic biology, AI-driven drug discovery platforms, and digital health infrastructure. The firm does not appear to invest in medical devices, healthcare services delivery, or later-stage biotechnology companies where clinical risk has been substantially retired.

### Does YK Bioventures participate in fund commitments or only direct deals?

YK Bioventures concentrates exclusively on direct equity investments in operating companies. There is no public evidence of the firm making fund commitments to other venture managers or participating as a limited partner in third-party funds. This aligns with its operator-investor model, where the principals' scientific expertise is applied directly to company formation and governance.

## Related profiles

- [Yiyi Capital](https://altss.com/profile/yiyi-capital)
- [Yochy Investments](https://altss.com/profile/yochy-investments)

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Last updated: 2026-08-14T12:30:00.000Z

Canonical page: https://altss.com/profile/yk-bioventures

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