Ondine Capital's newly appointed partner: Brian Yen Building on the firm's deep-rooted expertise in semiconductors and deep technology, Ondine Capital Fund III will invest across the full AI value chain—spanning AI foundation models, next-generation semiconductors, AI infrastructure, AI-native software, and physical AI applications.
Ondine Capital Fund III's early portfolio highlights include:
- Recursive Superintelligence: Founded by former Salesforce Chief Scientist Richard Socher and built by veteran researchers from OpenAI, Google, and Meta, the startup focuses on recursive self-improving AI systems. It recently raised $650 million at a $4 billion pre-money valuation led by Google Ventures, with participation from Nvidia and AMD.
- Bot Auto: Founded by Xiaodi Hou (former co-founder and CTO of TuSimple), this Houston-based physical AI startup specializes in autonomous freight transportation. Bot Auto recently partnered with Ryan Transportation to launch driverless freight operations along the Houston-Dallas corridor.
- Salience Labs: Founded by Vaysh Kewada and Johannes Feldmann, the company develops silicon-photonics optical switching technology for AI data centers. Partnering with Tower Semiconductor, Salience Labs recently closed a $125 million financing round led by Bullhound Capital, with strategic backing from AMD Ventures and Intel Capital.
Coinciding with the first close, Ondine Capital announced the appointment of Brian Yen as Partner, reinforcing the firm's global sourcing and founder network.
At a glance
- Company
- Ondine Capital
- Announcement
- Financing
- Location
- Taipei, Taiwan
Key figures
- Recursive Superintelligence financing
- $650 million
- Recursive Superintelligence pre-money valuation
- $4 billion
- Salience Labs financing
- $125 million
People
- Brian YenPartner
Products and programs
"The convergence of AI and semiconductors is unleashing unprecedented opportunities across global tech," said Brian Yen. "As these technologies mature, we anticipate monumental value creation throughout the entire stack. Through Fund III, we look forward to empowering visionary founders who are shaping the future of computing and industry applications."
Ondine Capital continues to actively deploy capital and evaluate global investment opportunities in breakthrough, category-defining companies across the AI and semiconductor landscape.
Hashtag: #OndineCapital #RSI #BotAuto #SalienceLabs
https://www.ondinecap.com/
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
About Ondine Capital
Ondine Capital is a premier venture capital firm focused on frontier technologies, including semiconductors, artificial intelligence, enterprise software, clean energy, and emerging technology platforms. The firm backs visionary founders from inception, providing strategic support and access to a robust global network of industrial partners, investors, and entrepreneurs.
In brief
Ondine Capital says its third U.S.-dollar venture fund has reached its first close, with commitments from institutional and strategic limited partners, including semiconductor companies in Taiwan. The firm plans to invest across areas including AI models, semiconductors, infrastructure, software and physical AI. It cited three early portfolio companies: Recursive Superintelligence, Bot Auto and Salience Labs. The release says Recursive Superintelligence raised $650 million at a $4 billion pre-money valuation, while Salience Labs closed a $125 million financing round. Ondine Capital also appointed Brian Yen as a partner. The company says Yen previously led Headline Asia’s Taipei office and will focus on early-stage founders working on intelligent software and physical AI platforms. The firm says it continues to assess investment opportunities across AI and semiconductors.
Key takeaways
- Ondine Capital announced the first close of its third U.S.-dollar venture fund.
- Fund III is set to invest across AI, semiconductor, infrastructure, software and physical AI areas.
- The firm highlighted Recursive Superintelligence, Bot Auto and Salience Labs as early portfolio companies.
- Brian Yen was appointed partner and will focus on intelligent software and physical AI platforms.
