We support today's underdogs in becoming tomorrow's champions

We aspire to assist entrepreneurs with grit to embrace unglamorous yet impactful opportunities.

Our Philosophy

At iFly, we invest in technology-enabled transformation across the value chain of traditional industries with the initial focus on commerce.

INVESTMENT PHILOSOPHY

We Don't Follow the Herd

instead we follow the guiding light...

Discover value in the unsexy

Our investment does NOT chase what is hot. In any sector that may appear unglamorous but still has tremendous unsolved problems, we aspire to support gritty entrepreneurs to attack those problems and create REAL value.

Discover value in the unsexy

Follow a thesis-driven investment approach

We avoid investment in areas where we have little expertise. We constantly build knowledge base and cultivate network of domain experts to not only identify emerging opportunities but also earn the qualification to assist entrepreneurs.

Follow a thesis-driven investment approach

Build a concentrated portfolio

We do NOT spray and pray. Instead we aim to build a concentrated portfolio with fewer number of investments than industry average. Each investment is our commitment of dedicating a substantial amount of energy and resources to entrepreneurs.

Build a concentrated portfolio

Share the journey together

Building iFly as a VC fund is just like building a startup. We are excited to grow together with entrepreneurs who we work with and learn from one another. We are also committed to a shared journey through the ups and downs.

Share the journey together

THE CHAMPIONS

Our Champions of Tomorrow

Share the journey together
Weee!

Selling and delivering fresh ethnic groceries directly to customers in the United States

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Ume Tea

High-quality and delicious fruit-based bubble tea

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Share the journey together
ShopVidi

B2B wholesale marketplace that connects local, independent retailers with consumer brands in beauty, apparel, fashion, home, and gifts categories.

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Share the journey together
ChefUs

Next-gen Asian restaurant chain

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Cheese

Neobank for the underbanked, starting with immigrants

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Minitable

All apps restaurant need are in one place and mindfully connected

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Twirlista

Online fashion e-commerce platform intended to make sustainable fashion more affordable for college students

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BorderX Lab

World leading cross-border eCommerce marketplace

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Camp Six

Fast, low-cost construction of large, complex metal structures

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Waysia

Selling and delivering fresh Asian groceries directly to customers in France

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Yummy Bazaar

Modernizing the specialty foods industry

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M & A
Oculus

Make it possible to experience anything, anywhere, through the power of virtual reality (Acquired by Facebook)

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Share the journey together
Sweet A Little

Delivering sweetness & delight straight to your door under 30 minutes

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Super Heroic

Help every child unlock their superpowers through footwear and apparel

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M & A
Lexent Bio

Novel liquid biopsy technology to change the way we manage cancer

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STEALTH
Stealth

Sector: Fintech

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M & A
Alert Me

UK’s leading connected homes provider (Acquired by British Gas)

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M & A
Comfy

Comfy connects people, places, and systems to create amazing workplace experiences. (Acquired by Siemens)

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Encored

The leading Energy Big Data Platform based on breakthrough disaggregation technology and data science

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M & A
Fyusion

3D computer vision and machine learning expertise to make images as intelligent as they are beautiful

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M & A
Grabit

Game changing productivity solutions for the manufacturing and warehouse logistics industries

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M & A
Lucid

Harnesses the power of data to improve building operations (Acquired by Acuity)

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Memebox

Provides customers with the latest in Asian beauty products, culture, and trends

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Share the journey together
M & A
Motive

Provides unique technologies and services that lower the cost and improve the accuracy and performance of drilling operations (Acquired by Helmerich & Payne)

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Past Investments expand_more

Fun Facts

A little bit about our fund and portfolio companies by the numbers

300+

Pitches to prospective LPs for Fund I

provided us with a humbling experience in fund raising

85%

LPs are entrepreneurs themselves

who have founded at least one company

70%

Portfolio companies had iFly as lead investor

and ended up having an oversubscribed round

100%

Founders have international experiences

with global vision yet local focus

$2m

Average investment

ranging from $1m - $5m

60x

BorderX Lab's growth in monthly sales

in subsequent 18 months after iFly’s first investment

THE BELIEVERS

Embracing Trust, Teamwork, Humbleness, Builder Mindset

Han Shen
Han Shen

Founding Partner

Martin Salomon
Martin Salomon

Chief of Staff

Daisy Xu
Daisy Xu

Investment Associate

Our Advisors

An extensive network of domain experts and operation gurus across industries

Alfred Chu
Alfred Chu
Brian Goodall
Brian Goodall
Free Wu
Free Wu
Eric Johnson
Eric Johnson
Jessica Phan
Jessica Phan
Joe Lonsdale
Joe Lonsdale
Ken Nesmith
Ken Nesmith
Radu Rusu
Radu Rusu
It has been a great pleasure working with Han to build Formation 8 from scratch. His fundamental expertise in technologies and business savvy make him a truly unique individual. Han fits into the Silicon Valley community nicely and has been widely respected by many entrepreneurs and investors, and I look forward to continuing to work with him on iFly.vc.



Joe Lonsdale

Formation 8, 8VC & iFly Advisor

I'm very impressed by Han's insights and investment philosophy. He shared our vision in building a technology-enabled platform for merchants and customers in the cross-border e-commerce space. Han is much more than a pure financial investor; he is a company builder. Han has made tremendous effort to help us grow. He and I meet regularly to discuss the company's strategy, recruiting, operation, etc. Han has been a real positive force in our company building process. All of our team members see him as part of the team.



Albert Shen

Co-founder and CEO, BorderX Lab

Han has a perfect combination of technology, business sense and pragmatism. As an investor in BorderX Lab, Han is instrumental in our early success. He is a great sounding board for the challenges all start-ups face and a great advisor to maximize our business growth. Han is a very hands-on investor who uses his skills, rolodex and intelligence to add to the mix of ideas every start-up depends on to be successful.



Jeff Unze

President of Strategic Partnership, BorderX Lab

Han demonstrates the type of independent creative thinking combined with integrity and strong interpersonal skills valued as a venture capital partner. In Formation 8’s investment in Motive Drilling Technologies, Han showed wisdom and skill in bringing the deal back together and worked hard with the entrepreneur, with Hunt and GE Ventures to see the Motive spin out of Hunt successfully.



Victor Liu

President of Hunt Energy Enterprises, Board Member of Motive Drilling

I’ve known and worked closely with Han Shen since 2012, working with him on the Grabit board. At a time when hardware and robotics were not yet ‘hot’, Han recognized the potential of vertical opportunities afforded by Grabit even before others did, and enthusiastically sponsored Grabit to spin out of SRI. Han is one of the most proactive and helpful investors I’ve met. He seems to know what we need before we even ask and has a network of valuable resources that has made a major impact in helping us grow. Many of us see Han as the third co-founder of Grabit. Tip for other entrepreneurs: it’s a huge advantage to have him on your side.



Harsha Prahlad

Co-founder and CTO, Grabit

As co-founder and CEO of Lucid, I got to interact with Han the most. I could count on him to be available when I needed his help or input. He had high expectations and held me accountable. He always expected me and the rest of the company to perform better than we already were, because he knew we can. Even though Han was formally a board observer, he acted like and carried the responsibilities and duties of a full and active board member. His work ethic is exceptional and he was instrumental in bringing certain resources to bear which were transformative to Lucid. We feel fortunate to have had the opportunity to work with him.



Vladi Shunturov

Co-founder and CEO, Lucid

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