Lan Xuezhao

Lan Xuezhao
Born
China
EducationUniversity of Michigan
OccupationVenture capitalist
Known forFounding San Francisco–based venture capital firm Basis Set Ventures

Lan Xuezhao is a Chinese-American entrepreneur and venture capitalist. She is best known for founding Basis Set Ventures, a San Francisco–based venture capital firm that was one of the earliest to focus on early-stage artificial intelligence and automation startups.[1] She has a research background with academic contributions on cognitive sciences. Her most cited work was published in the journal Science.[2]

Early life and education

Lan Xuezhao was born in China and later immigrated to the United States. Xuezhao earned a M.A. in Statistics (2008) and a Ph.D. in Psychology (2009) from the University of Michigan. Her doctoral research focused on quantitative cognitive science, and she has published findings in leading academic journals, including Science.[3]

Career

After completing her Ph.D., Xuezhao founded a startup developing brain-training games for children, which was later acquired. She subsequently worked at McKinsey & Company as an engagement manager.[4][5] In 2013, she joined Dropbox, leading the Corporate Development Strategy team and overseeing mergers and acquisitions strategy.[6]

In 2017, Xuezhao founded Basis Set Ventures (BSV), a venture capital firm that invests in AI and automation-focused startups.[7][8] She launched the firm with over a hundred million in funding, emphasizing a data-driven approach to venture investing.[9] BSV developed internal tools such as the AI system “Pascal” for sourcing potential startups and the HyperGrowth platform to connect portfolio companies with mentors.[10][11][12]

Under Xuezhao’s leadership, BSV expanded with subsequent funds of $165 million (2021), $185 million (2023) and $250 million (2026), bringing total assets under management to over $850 million.[13][14][15] The firm invests primarily in AI-driven enterprise software and infra-first consumer companies. Notable portfolio companies include Scale AI, Path Robotics, Workstream, Ergeon, Quince, Cusp[16] and Drata.[17]

Recognition

In 2024, Lan Xuezhao was named among the top “Seed 40” women early-stage investors.[18]

In academia, she serves on the advisory board of the University of Michigan School of Information, mentoring students and advising on AI and data science research.[19]

References

  1. ^ Chernova, Yuliya (2026-01-26). "Exclusive | Basis Set Ventures Bet on AI Before Other Firms. Now It Has Raised a $250 Million Fourth Fund". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2026-01-26.
  2. ^ "Google Scholar". scholar.google.com. Retrieved 2025-09-11.
  3. ^ "Venture Confidential | Ep. #21, Feat. Lan Xuezhao of Basis Set Ventures". Heavybit. 2018-09-21. Retrieved 2025-09-11.
  4. ^ "Dr. Lan Xuezhao | Founder & Partner". www.basisset.com. Retrieved 2025-09-11.
  5. ^ "Lan Xuezhao - Lan Xuezhao's Forbes Blog". Forbes. Retrieved 2025-09-11.
  6. ^ Primack, Dan (2017-05-09). "Exclusive: Dropbox exec leaves to launch VC firm". Axios. Retrieved 2025-09-11.
  7. ^ SaaStr, Team (2020-08-05). "Changing the Way We Work with Founding Partner Lan Xuezhao at Basis Set Ventures (Video + Transcript)". SaaStr. Retrieved 2025-09-11.
  8. ^ Xuezhao, Lan (2016-10-26). "China's big Artificial Intelligence (AI) push". Asia Times. Retrieved 2025-09-11.
  9. ^ Mannes, John (2017-08-31). "Basis Set Ventures gets real to get to the heart of AI startups". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2025-09-11.
  10. ^ SaaStr, Team (2020-08-05). "Changing the Way We Work with Founding Partner Lan Xuezhao at Basis Set Ventures (Video + Transcript)". SaaStr. Retrieved 2025-09-11.
  11. ^ Hodgkinson, Rob (2024-11-25). "Investing in AI: 10 VC strategies to watch". SignalRank Update. Retrieved 2025-09-11.
  12. ^ Shieber, Jonathan (2021-04-22). "At Basis Set Ventures, merging venture capital and software development yields a $165 million new fund". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2025-09-11.
  13. ^ Renbarger, Madeline. "Exclusive: Basis Set Raises $185 Million Third Fund, Doubling Down on AI & Automation". www.newcomer.co. Retrieved 2025-09-11.
  14. ^ Chernova, Yuliya (2021-04-26). "Basis Set Ventures Gives Up the Office as It Raises $165 Million Fund". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2025-09-11.
  15. ^ Chernova, Yuliya (2026-01-26). "Exclusive | Basis Set Ventures Bet on AI Before Other Firms. Now It Has Raised a $250 Million Fourth Fund". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2026-01-26.
  16. ^ Butcher, Mike (2024-06-18). "CuspAI raises $30M to create a GenAI-driven search engine for new materials". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2026-01-26.
  17. ^ "Basis Set Ventures - Portfolio, Partners, Reviews, News". Parsers VC. Retrieved 2025-09-11.
  18. ^ Persaud, Vishal; Bergman, Ben; Hornstein, Julia; Rao, Leena; Russell, Melia; Stokes, Samantha; Torrence, Rebecca. "The Seed 40: The best women early-stage investors of 2025". Business Insider. Retrieved 2025-09-11.
  19. ^ uomsi. "Two new members appointed to UMSI Advisory Board | umsi". www.si.umich.edu. Retrieved 2025-09-11.
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