Derrick Li is a Principal at Afore Capital, a pre-seed venture firm in San Francisco. See portfolio, sector focus and contact routes.
Derrick Li is a Principal at Afore Capital, a pre-seed venture firm in San Francisco, and previously served as Brad Gerstner’s Analyst and Chief of Staff at Altimeter Capital from 2014 to 2018[1][2][10]. He invests primarily at the pre-seed stage in early-stage technology founders, often before they have a coherent idea, with a focus on artificial intelligence, software, and emerging digital platforms[7][12]. Li typically acts as an angel investor alongside his firm role, backing startups in the U.S. tech ecosystem, particularly in San Francisco and surrounding innovation hubs[1][7]. His personal angel portfolio includes notable companies such as Ollama, LangChain, Retool, and DataCurve, which he joined as an early investor[7][10]. He has publicly argued that college students are better positioned than professionals to build AI startups, reflecting his thesis on early, curiosity-driven innovation[7]. Li also co-founded Macro Computer Club and maintains a public list of his angel investments on his personal website[1][5][10].
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