Reliable Sources [[1]]

Chon Tang
Alma mater
Occupations
  • Venture Capitalist
  • Investor
  • Serial Entrepreneur
EmployerBerkeley SkyDeck Fund
Known forCatchpod / Kaiqiaole Document Management, Ichnop
TitleFounding Partner
Board member ofBlazingDB, Converge Industries, Mira Inc.

Chon (Ziqiang) Tang is an investor, entrepreneur, startup advisor and the founding partner of the Berkeley SkyDeck Fund, affiliated with the Berkeley SkyDeck startup accelerator.[1][2][3][4]

Career edit

Angel Investing edit

Tang made his first angel investments in 2005, focused in Northern California.[5][6] One of Tang's investments TubeMogul went public in 2014 and was acquired by Adobe in 2017.[1][7][8] Tang's investment Pulpix was acquired by Adyoulike in 2018.[9] In 2017, Kando recorded that Tang had made a total of 25 investments since 2005.[10] Tang has participated as a board member for the Sacramento Angels, a member of the selection committee for the MIT Angels, and as a member of Sand Hill Angels, Berkeley Angel Network. In 2020, Tang was named an SVIEF Investor of the Year.[11]

Junzi Capital Engineering Hedge Fund edit

Tang founded Junzi Capital Engineering hedge fund in 2009 after the 2008 financial crisis.[3][5] Junzi was a quantitative hedge fund which invested in commodities, especially energy, through automated algorithmic trading, which Tang programmed to trade for 23 hours a day, six days a week.[5][12][13] Tang focused on mispriced futures options informed by the Black–Scholes pricing model.[5][12] The fund used a volatility arbitrage strategy, with 200-300 trades per day, producing a 43.24% return in 2012.[5][14] Tang said in a Top Traders of 2012 interview with ACTIVE TRADER that he ordinally developed the tech to inform his own investing strategy before discovering how well it worked on the market.[5] By the first quarter of 2013, Junzi was operating via telework with staff in California and Chicago, Illinois as well as an operations team in Asia.[6]

Berkeley SkyDeck Fund edit

In 2017, Tang joined UC Berkeley SkyDeck as a fund manager, where in early 2018, Tang and colleague Caroline Winnett launched the Berkeley SkyDeck Fund at $24 million, backed by venture capital firms Sequoia Capital and Mayfield.[1][15] The fund promised $100,000 to each startup accepted into the SkyDeck accelerator in return for a 5 percent equity stake in the startup.[16][17] Chon stated in an interview with the Sacramento Business Journal that in order to be accepted into the program, one of the startup's founders or advisors must come from the University of California system.[18] He also said that SkyDeck appeals to investors by bringing in founders from foreign countries, with the goal of becoming an international hub for entrepreneurship.[18]

In late 2018, Tang and SkyDeck announced a semiconductor Chip Track to fund and launch semiconductor startups with partner companies Cadence Design Systems and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Limited.[19] The goal Tang said in a press release was to "help bring the silicon back to Silicon Valley" by providing emerging chip startups with the services needed to build prototypes, a process that normally costs $2 million.[19][20][21] In May 2021, The New York Times reported that the SkyDeck chip track had selected a total of seven semiconductor startups to for the program with plans to add more in the future.[22]

Early Life and Education edit

Tang was born in China in Nanjing Province.[5] At age 9, Tang moved to Davis, California where he worked his first job, delivering the weekend paper for the San Francisco Chronicle.[1][5] In 1998, Tang earned his bachelor's in computer science and electrical engineering from UC Berkeley, and in 2000, Tang earned a masters degree in the same from MIT.[5][12][23]

Tang has three children and lives in China.[1]

  1. ^ a b c d e Rinker, Brian (Feb 5, 2021). "Money Talks: SkyDeck's Chon Tang embraces work from anywhere by moving to China". San Francisco Business Times. American City Business Journals. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
  2. ^ Sawers, Paul (April 1, 2020). "Startup accelerators forge ahead with new virtual programs". VentureBeat. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
  3. ^ a b Loeb, Steven (February 5, 2020). "Meet Chon Tang, founding partner of Berkeley SkyDeck Fund". Vator.TV. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
  4. ^ "The Definitive Guide to the East Bay Startup Ecosystem: 300+ Resources for Entrepreneurs". Founder Institute. Founder Institute, Inc. June 13, 2018. Retrieved 29 April 2021.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i Staff, Active Trader. "Active Trader Interview: The Accidental Money Manager". No. August 2012. ACTIVE TRADER.
  6. ^ a b "Junzi Capital Engineering - TGO Fund". Barclay Managed Funds Review (Q1): 1–3. 2013.
  7. ^ O'Reilly, Lara (January 18, 2017). "The CEO of ad tech firm TubeMogul explains why he sold his company to Adobe for $540 million and what happens now". Business Insider. Insider, Inc. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
  8. ^ Liyakasa, Kelly (January 13, 2017). "Video Platform Pulpix Raises $850K To Help Publishers Increase Engagement". AdExchanger. Access Intelligence LLC. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
  9. ^ Liyakasa, Kelly (March 22, 2018). "Native SSP Adyoulike Acquires Video Ad Platform Pulpix To Help Publishers Monetize Video". AdExchanger. Access Intelligence LLC. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
  10. ^ "Chon Tang". Kando.tech. Retrieved 28 May 2021.
  11. ^ "About 2020 SVIEF". SVIEF. SVIEF. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
  12. ^ a b c Collins, Daniel (September 30, 2012). "Hot New CTAs: Not your father's option traders". FuturesMag. TOPSTEP PUBLISHING, LLC. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
  13. ^ Justin Vincent and Jason Roberts (October 14, 2011). "151: TZ Interview – Chon Tang / Inside the Black Box of Algorithmic Trading". techzing tech podcast. Retrieved 29 April 2021.
  14. ^ Collins, Daniel (February 28, 2013). "Top Traders of 2012". FuturesMag. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
  15. ^ Mawson, James (November 9, 2018). "GUV Powerlist 2018: Chon Tang". Global University Venturing. Mawsonia Ltd. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
  16. ^ Egusa, Conrad (September 15, 2017). "Look no further: Universities are funding startups to ensure students succeed". The Next Web. Financial Times. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
  17. ^ Said, Carolyn (August 15, 2018). "UC Berkeley startup accelerator gets a boost from venture fund". San Francisco Chronicle. Hearst Newspapers. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
  18. ^ a b Steinhauer, Adam. "TECH EDGE Insights from our annual technology conference". Sacramento Business Journal. American City Business Journals. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
  19. ^ a b Tansey, Bernadette (October 25, 2018). "Berkeley's SkyDeck Offers Chip Design Support Worth Millions to Startups". Xconomy. InformaConnect. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
  20. ^ Heles, Thierry (October 23, 2018). "SkyDeck to process semiconductor startups". Global University Venturing. Mawsonia Ltd. Retrieved 29 April 2021.
  21. ^ "Berkeley SkyDeck Launches First Official 'Chip Track' for Startups to Help Bring Silicon Back to Silicon Valley". Berkeley SkyDeck. October 22, 2018. Retrieved 29 April 2021.
  22. ^ Clark, Don (May 7, 2021). "Despite Chip Shortage, Chip Innovation Is Booming". The New York Times. The New York Times Company. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
  23. ^ "Chon Tang Founding Partner, UC Berkeley SkyDeck Fund". BerkeleyExecEd. BerkeleyHaas. Retrieved 28 April 2021.