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Yida Gao

Venture Capitalist | Forbes 30 Under 30

Yida Gao

Yida Gao is the Managing General Partner of Shima Capital, an early-stage crypto investment firm he founded in 2021. He formerly co-ran Struck Capital, an early-stage industry-agnostic venture fund, and DDC (Divergence Digital Currency), a multi-strategy crypto fund.2

Prior to his venture capital roles, Gao served as a technology investor at New Enterprise Associates, a $25B+ venture capital fund, and as an M&A investment banker at Morgan Stanley.2 He graduated from MIT with degrees in mathematics and computer science and briefly attended Stanford's Graduate School of Business before dropping out to pursue crypto investing full-time in 2017.23

Gao teaches the 15.492: Crypto Finance course at MIT, taking over the role from SEC Chairman Gary Gensler in 2022.24 He is known for inviting prominent crypto founders and executives as guest speakers, including Vitalik Buterin, Yat Siu, Anthony Pompliano, and Alex Mashinsky.4

As the founder of Shima Capital, Gao focuses on investing in disruptive blockchain companies and providing hands-on support to help them succeed.23 The firm's $200M web3 venture fund has backed nearly 200 portfolio companies to date.4

Gao's other accolades include being named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 list23 and serving as a member of the Open Campus (EDU) committee.1

Highlights

Under 30 Seconds Inflation Hedging Coin (IHC) Raised $10 Million - RecentlyHeard.com
Nimbus And Nethermind Run Merge Event To Prepare For PoS Transition - RecentlyHeard.com

Related Questions

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How did Yida Gao transition from investment banking to venture capital?
What is the Open Campus (EDU) committee that Yida Gao is a part of?
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How did Yida Gao's experience at MIT influence his career in crypto?
Yida Gao
Yida Gao, photo 1
Yida Gao, photo 2
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Experience

General Partner at Shima Capital (March 2021 - Present)
Guest Instructor at MIT (February 2022 - May 2023), General Partner at Divergence Digital Currency (September 2017 - February 2021), General Partner at Struck Capital (March 2016 - February 2021), Venture Investor at New Enterprise Associates (July 2015 - July 2017)

Education

Bachelor of Science (B.S.) from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Stanford University Graduate School of Business

Location

San Francisco, California, United States