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ZenStone Venture Capital
ZenStone Venture Capital was founded by Farris Wu and Fay Yang, two serial entrepreneurs who arrived at venture investing through commercial real estate.
ZenStone Venture Capital
ZenStone Venture Capital was founded by Farris Wu and Fay Yang, two serial entrepreneurs who arrived at venture investing through commercial real estate. Before ZenStone, both co-founded Alpha Realty Capital, a Silicon Valley firm managing value-add commercial properties, while Yang previously executed more than $30 million in commercial real estate transactions at GD Commercial. Wu's earlier career traces to an applied physics PhD at UT Austin and senior scientist work at Applied Materials, where he contributed to semiconductor etching process development. The firm writes initial checks averaging $250,000 at post-seed and early venture stages, targeting application-layer innovation that exploits massively connected computing and sensor infrastructure. Portfolio exposure ranges from online checkout (Bolt) to real estate listings (HomeLight), education (Descomplica), and branded stock photography (Unsplash). Confirmed positions include Bolt, which has raised over $143 million across successive rounds, HomeLight at $109 million in new funding, and Descomplica, where SoftBank led an $83 million investment. The firm's geographical footprint links North American startups with Asian market access. Team scale, headcount, and total deployment are not publicly disclosed. The firm operates from Milpitas, California, with the two managing directors jointly overseeing deal sourcing, due diligence, and partnership development. There is no disclosed philanthropy or club affiliation, though the About page stresses a network that helps portfolio companies access customers and distribution overseas. Recent portfolio activity includes Bolt's $75 million extension to its Series C and HomeLight's $109 million funding round, both reflecting the e-commerce and proptech bets that anchor the ZenStone thesis. ZenStone's structural signature is its vertically integrated bridge model: a single partnership simultaneously running a venture capital firm and a commercial real estate investment platform, Alpha Realty Capital. This dual-entity structure lets Wu and Yang move between property-level value-add deals and early-stage technology bets, reusing the same Asian capital relationships across asset classes. No other Silicon Valley micro-VC is known to operate an in-house commercial real estate arm with the same partners.
General information
Firm type
Private Equity
Year founded
—
AUM
Undisclosed
Location
Region
North America
Country
United States
City
Milpitas
Corporate office
1647 S Main Street, Milpitas, CA 95035, United States
Principals
Mingfeng (Farris) Wu
Co-founder & Managing Director
Fay Yang
Co-founder & Managing Director
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who runs investment decisions at ZenStone Venture Capital?
Farris Wu and Fay Yang, the firm's co-founders and managing directors, sit on the Investment Committee and share responsibility for deal sourcing, due diligence, and partnership development. Wu leads financial planning and deal structuring while Yang focuses on market analysis and due diligence, per the firm's own team page. There is no disclosed GP-level team beyond the two co-founders.
How does ZenStone source deals?
ZenStone draws deal flow from the co-founders' combined networks in commercial real estate and the Bay Area technology ecosystem. Wu's prior academic and semiconductor-industry career provides a technical sourcing channel, while Yang's broker background gives her access to commercial and retail property operators who interact with proptech and fintech founders. The firm also states that being headquartered in the Bay Area allows it to help overseas companies access US customers and distribution, suggesting some inbound deal flow from Asia-based founders.
Does ZenStone participate in fund commitments or only direct deals?
All disclosed portfolio activity points to direct startup equity investments, with the firm describing an average check size of $250,000 per company at the post-seed and early venture stages. There is no public evidence of fund-of-fund commitments or SPV structures.
What investment stages does ZenStone typically target?
The firm states it invests at 'post seed and early venture stages,' which aligns with its portfolio of companies raising Series A through C rounds. Bolt had raised $68 million before taking a further $75 million in a Series C extension, while HomeLight and Descomplica reached $109 million and $83 million rounds, respectively.
How is ZenStone related to Alpha Realty Capital?
Alpha Realty Capital is a Silicon Valley-based commercial real estate investment firm that both Farris Wu and Fay Yang co-founded and still run as managing directors. The two firms share the same investment committee and managing partners, operating as vertically integrated vehicles — Alpha handles property-level value-add investments while ZenStone writes venture equity checks.
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