GCV Emerging Leaders 2022: Bo Zhu, head, Lam Capital Asia-Pacific

Bo Zhu is a China-based partner at Lam Research Capital, a corporate venture capital (CVC) vehicle for US-headquartered chipmaker Lam Research, where he leads semiconductor, advanced manufacturing and Asia deals for the unit.

The unit invests in early-stage companies developing technologies in the semiconductor ecosystem, artificial intelligence for manufacturing, additive manufacturing and other industry 4.0-related domains.

Faran Nouri, managing director of Lam Capital, said: “Bo has been a startup leader and a successful investor. He is bilingual and bicultural and has been effective at closing some very difficult investments for us. In these times of geopolitical strife, we are fortunate to have Bo and continue our investments in Asia.”

Regarding what attracted him to CVC, Zhu said: “An engineer by training and an entrepreneur at heart, I am fond of innovations and impacts. As such, working in a CVC in the semiconductor industry, the essential technology enabler, is a life-fulling job. The role allows me to make far-reaching impacts in every aspect of people life by combining vast resources of industry leaders and disruptive power of startups.”

He added: “My aspiration is to become a trusted venture capitalist and company builder who empowers innovations to bring positive changes to my stakeholders, industry and society.”

Zhu joined the unit in June 2018 having previously co-founded and served as president for Maven Optronics China, a manufacturer advancing chip-scale packaging LEDs for display and healthcare industries.

Prior to Maven, he held multiple positions at semiconductor technology provider Applied Materials, including director of solar product sales for North Asia, associate at its CVC arm, Applied Ventures, and manager in new business development.

Edison Fu

Edison Fu is a reporter and Asia liaison at Global Corporate Venturing.