Zillionize is a self-funded, micro-venture capital firm founded in March 2011 in Palo Alto. See sector focus, stage focus and contact routes.
Zillionize is a self-funded, micro-venture capital firm founded in March 2011 in Palo Alto, California by Ben Li and Cindy Bi, beginning with an angel investment in MailGun before launching the firm for continued seed-stage investing [1][9]. The firm’s investment thesis centers on the single keyword “early,” targeting founders who see the future and investing on or before Demo Day, primarily in Y Combinator startups due to the partners’ alignment with Paul Graham’s essays [1][2]. Zillionize operates as a seed-round investor with a typical check size of $200,000 as of recent valuations, having started at $50,000 and increased to $100,000 as YC valuations rose [1]. While the firm often leads seed rounds, it persists to join follow-on rounds if it misses the initial seed, reflecting a “no nonsense,” lightning-fast approach from outreach to funding [1]. Notable portfolio companies include Zapier, MailGun, Algolia, People.ai, Rippling, Cruise (acquired by GM for over $1 billion), Flutterwave, Eight Sleep, and Go1 [3][5][6]. A distinctive point of view is their data-driven methodology: they may not ask founders questions because they have already collected sufficient data to assess succe
Details on this firm come from filing and round data held in the StartupFundraising directory, refreshed on ingest. Founders use profiles like this one to qualify fit and to shortlist comparable investors.
Investors like Zillionize · Full investor directory · Investor access · Company funding database