After witnessing years of soaring startup valuations and frenzied dealmaking within the venture capital realm, traditionalists are mounting a resurgence in 2023. This list of the top 10 tech investors, known as the Midas List, has long been a compass for tracking the ebbs and flows of venture capital.
It’s worth noting that individuals who have faced termination or resignation from their firms due to misconduct are susceptible to disqualification from the list.
As of 2023, Neil Shen holds the top position in the realm of venture capitalism, asserting his dominance.
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10 Best Venture Capital Investors In 2023
Here is the list of the 10 best venture capital investors in 2023:
1. Neil Shen2. Micky Malka3. Alfred Lin4. Richard Liu5. Navin Chaddha6. Garry Tan 7. Zhen Zhang8. Lee Fixel 9. Fred Wilson10. Hans Tung
This list spotlights preeminent VCs, discerned through rigorous analysis of their record-breaking returns. These returns stem from their portfolio companies going public, engaging in M&A transactions, or securing funding rounds at enhanced valuations. The genesis of this discerning list lies in Forbes’ annual report, a meticulously data-driven endeavour amalgamating public data sources and thousands of investment deals submitted by hundreds of investors every year.
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The Midas List: Venture Capital Investors In 2023
1. Neil Shen
FIRM: Sequoia China
NOTABLE DEAL: ByteDance
HEADQUARTERS: Hong Kong, China
Neil Shen, the founding and managing partner of Sequoia China, the Chinese counterpart of a triumphant Silicon Valley venture capital firm dominates as the top investor on the list. Shen, with his impressive portfolio encompassing TikTok parent ByteDance, Meituan, and Pinduoduo, transitioned from the pinnacle in 2021 to third place in 2022.
His journey to prominence began as a successful entrepreneur, co-founding the travel website Ctrip.com, preceding his association with Sequoia. Before venture capital, Shen contributed his expertise as an investment banker at esteemed institutions like Deutsche Bank Hong Kong, Chemical Bank, Lehman Brothers, and Citibank. In his capacity as an investor, Shen has directed his focus increasingly toward consumer and biotech companies, a strategy exemplified by his involvement in Innovent (IPO 2018) and Zai Lab (IPO 2017).
2. Micky Malka
FIRM: Ribbit Capital
NOTABLE DEAL: Coinbase
HEADQUARTERS: Menlo Park, United States
Micky Malka catapulted himself toward the top of the list, propelled by the resounding success of high-profile IPOs in the year 2021, including Coinbase, Nubank, and Robinhood, all nested within his expansive portfolio.
Several VC leaders met today to discuss the aftermath of SVB’s downfall. This is a joint statement from all of us. @Accel @altcap @BCapitalGroup @generalcatalyst @eladgil @GreylockVC @khoslaventures @kleinerperkins @lightspeedvp @MayfieldFund @Redpoint @RibbitCapital @upfrontvc pic.twitter.com/NMKKxJNXzJ
— Micky 🐸 (@mickymalka)
March 11, 2023
Recent accomplishments include Malka’s participation in a $100 million funding round for Indian fintech juggernaut PhonePe, which garnered a valuation of $12 billion. Malka’s entrepreneurial journey commenced early, with the launch and subsequent sale of his first venture, a financial brokerage, during his teenage years. In 2007, he ventured to the Bay Area, inaugurating Bling Nation, a payment startup that, regrettably, met its demise. Subsequently, in 2012, Malka laid the foundation for Ribbit Capital.
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3. Alfred Lin
FIRM: Sequoia
NOTABLE DEAL: Citadel Securities
HEADQUARTERS: San Francisco, United States
Alfred Lin’s tenure at Sequoia has seen him spearhead some of the venture’s most illustrious investments, featuring the likes of DoorDash and Airbnb. The IPOs of these ventures in 2020 put him in the top 3. However, 2022 saw a stern test for the firm, as their $225 million investment in FTX metamorphosed into a loss following the cryptocurrency exchange’s downfall in November.
Today marks a step forward in the future of retail: @faire_wholesale and @Shopify announced a global partnership that unlocks opportunities for small business growth on a much larger scale. Learn more here: https://t.co/4xE13N8ycE
— Alfred Lin (@Alfred_Lin)
September 27, 2023
Lin’s purview extends to a board seat at Citadel Securities, a company that orchestrated a $1.15 billion stake sale to Sequoia and Paradigm in January 2022. Before his foray into Sequoia in 2010, Lin played a pivotal role in the genesis of online retail titan Zappos alongside his Harvard classmate Tony Hsieh, assuming positions as the company’s COO and CFO. This journey culminated with Amazon’s acquisition of Zappos in July 2009.
4. Richard Liu
FIRM: 5Y Capital
NOTABLE DEAL: Xiaomi
HEADQUARTERS: Hong Kong, China
Richard Liu occupies the founding partner position at 5Y Capital, a China-based entity overseeing $5 billion in global capital management. Remarkably, 2023 marks Liu’s fourth consecutive year within the List’s top echelon and his ninth consecutive appearance on the list. As a Hong Kong-based investor, Liu boasts over two decades of immersion in the venture capital arena.
He continues to reap bountiful rewards from his strategic investment in mobile device juggernaut Xiaomi, which embarked on its public journey in 2018 and currently boasts a market capitalization of $37.28 billion. Liu’s extensive portfolio encompasses the cloud communications platform Agora.io, which held its IPO in May 2021, and AI chipmaker Horizon Robotics, sporting a valuation of $8 billion.
5. Navin Chaddha
FIRM: Mayfield Fund
NOTABLE DEAL: HashiCorp
HEADQUARTERS: Saratoga, United States
Navin Chaddha, a versatile investor with a penchant for diversification stands firm at the fifth position. Serving as the managing director at Mayfield, Chaddha spearheads the venture practice, with a resumé replete with the backing of 18 companies that successfully navigated the path to going public. Noteworthy among these are Lyft, Poshmark, and developer tools enterprise HashiCorp.
Chaddha’s current ventures of note include Alif Semiconductor, Devrev.ai (specializing in software development management), and the cloud data management service, Securiti.ai. A maverick in the investment realm, Chaddha has also ventured into the web3 landscape, fostering ties with blockchain software producer Alchemy and the beleaguered cryptocurrency exchange, FTX. As an Indian immigrant with an electrical engineering background, Chaddha’s trajectory took an unconventional turn when he abandoned his PhD program at Stanford to co-found VXtreme, a streaming video enterprise eventually acquired by Microsoft.
6. Garry Tan
FIRM: Y Combinator
NOTABLE DEAL: Coinbase
HEADQUARTERS: San Francisco, United States
Garry Tan, whose name graces the List due to his remarkable venture endeavours, embarked on a new path in January 2023. He assumed the role of president and CEO of the renowned startup accelerator, Y Combinator. Previously, Tan co-founded Initialized Capital, a fund birthed in partnership with colleagues Alexis Ohanian and Harj Taggar.
Tech gave me everything I have
Its capacity to lift people into abundance is incredible and there is nothing like it
We must make that into prosperity for everyone https://t.co/xeORQFBb4d
— Garry Tan 陈嘉兴 — e/acc (@garrytan)
August 11, 2023
It was this venture that he and Ohanian dedicated themselves to full-time in 2015, departing from YC. Tan’s illustrious career boasts early-stage investments in Instacart and Flexport. Notably, he penned the inaugural check for Coinbase, the cryptocurrency exchange platform that conducted its public debut in April 2021. Apart from his dalliance with startups, Tan, a longstanding resident of San Francisco, has also established himself as a prominent advocate for local civic causes in recent years.
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7. Zhen Zhang
FIRM: Gaorong Capital
NOTABLE DEAL: Pinduoduo
HEADQUARTERS: Beijing, China
Zhen Zhang secures a coveted spot in the List’s top ten venture capitalists, aligning himself with luminaries like Sequoia’s Neil Shen and Alfred Lin. Zhang’s journey led him to establish Gaorong Capital, formerly known as Banyan Capital, an entity that has facilitated the successful IPOs of more than ten companies.
He is perhaps best renowned for his strategic investment in the Chinese e-commerce giant, Pinduoduo, which navigated its public debut in 2018. Notably, in January 2023, Google took action to remove Pinduoduo from its Play Store, citing the discovery of malware employed for surveillance purposes on users and competitors, as reported by CNN. Zhang’s illustrious portfolio extends to include Sungy Mobile, which underwent its IPO in 2013, and internet software purveyor Seeyon, which embarked on its public journey in 2019.
8. Lee Fixel
FIRM: Addition
NOTABLE DEAL: Freshworks
HEADQUARTERS: New York, United States
Lee Fixel, following a 13-year tenure at Tiger Global Management, embarked on his independent venture in 2020, founding Addition, an investment firm. The year 2022 bore witness to Fixel’s remarkable feat as he successfully raised $1.5 billion for Addition, amplifying the firm’s total assets under management to an impressive $7 billion.
Recent ventures include co-leading an early-stage investment round in the unicorn startup Adept AI and spearheading a $350 million funding round in the fintech venture, Satispay, propelling it to the status of Italy’s second unicorn. Fixel’s historical investments include contributions to the fitness giant Peloton, the crypto exchange Coinbase, and e-cigarette manufacturer Juul Labs. His illustrious portfolio extends to include commercially successful entities like the e-commerce app Flipkart (acquired by Walmart), the $7.4 billion security startup Snyk, AI unicorn Anyscale, and the $50 billion payments titan Stripe.
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9. Fred Wilson
FIRM: Union Square Ventures
NOTABLE DEAL: Coinbase
HEADQUARTERS: New York, United States
Fred Wilson, an indomitable presence in the New York venture capital landscape, co-led the Series A funding round for cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase back in 2013. Even as his firm, Union Square Ventures, divested over a quarter of its Coinbase shares in the lead-up to Coinbase’s direct listing, it retained ownership of more than 7% of Coinbase before its momentous IPO in April 2021.
Wilson, renowned for his investments in Twitter, Etsy, and MongoDB, maintains an active presence in the digital realm, consistently sharing insights on venture, crypto, and various other subjects through his daily blog. Furthermore, he chairs the board at Etsy and assumed the role of chair for Soundcloud’s board in March 2023.
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10. Hans Tung
FIRM: GGV Capital
NOTABLE DEAL: Airbnb
HEADQUARTERS: San Francisco, United States
Hans Tung is celebrated for his strategic investments in high-value tech startups. His illustrious portfolio boasts 27 unicorns, including now-public entities like Affirm, Airbnb, Peloton, Poshmark, and Wish. Tung’s public portfolio alone commands a valuation of approximately $324 billion, with an aggregate portfolio value surpassing the remarkable figure of $1,018 billion.
Here’s the first edition of The Big Idea Breakdown, a miniseries on LinkedIn where I share how startup founders turn big ideas into reality—in this issue, I talk about how @ifain is growing a sustainable businesses at @BoweryFarming:https://t.co/uEGORPZ3Qy
— Hans Tung (@hanstung)
April 5, 2023
Over the past half-decade, nine of his investments have culminated in IPOs, yielding gains amounting to roughly $2.6 billion. An immigrant hailing from Taiwan, Tung spent his formative years in Los Angeles before embarking on an eight-year journey in China, where he emerged as one of the earliest U.S. investors in the country’s burgeoning tech economy. In 2013, he returned to the United States. Beyond his investment endeavours, Tung assumes the mantle of hosting the “Evolving for the Next Billion” podcast and spearheads GGV’s diversity initiatives.
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Source: HIS Education