Chao Zheng

PhD | 10+ yrs pharma R&D
Angel in 10+ early-stage life sciences companies
What I look for in science, founders & deals
Founder, ChaosBio

[Chao Zheng @ChaosBioVC]

I’ve spent years building my professional network on LinkedIn, but I’m relatively new to X.

So, a quick introduction:

I’ve spent over a decade in pharmaceutical R&D, working across drug discovery and development, from early research through clinical-stage programs.

Now I’m here to meet more founders, scientists, investors, and builders in life sciences.

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[Chao Zheng @ChaosBioVC]

Attended the BioAngels Summit today in Midtown Manhattan.

Always great to hear updates from portfolio companies and learn about the latest trends in private and government funding for life sciences.

Equally valuable was the opportunity to exchange ideas with fellow investors, catch up with old friends, and make new connections.

[Chao Zheng @ChaosBioVC]

@SFourdrinier It’s simply not mentioned. And it’s not about getting a complete competitive analysis in the pitch deck. But if it’s a real competitive threat, it should be mentioned. You don’t want investors find out themselve, because they definitely will during due diligence.

[Chao Zheng @ChaosBioVC]

Doing due diligence on a startup and discovered that a major competitor was missing from its pitch deck.

It suggests one of two things: the founders don’t understand their competitive landscape, or they deliberately left out a major competitor.

Neither is a good look in front of investors.

[Chao Zheng @ChaosBioVC]

@galeforceVC Agreed. Don’t chase after the headline figure. Raise enough to the next value inflection point.

[Chao Zheng @ChaosBioVC]

@johnfelix123 Trust takes time to build, especially when LPs are committing capital for years.

[Chao Zheng @ChaosBioVC]

@Berci Time to allow more people to have access.

[Chao Zheng @ChaosBioVC]

Took my kid to a local chess meetup today and struck up a conversation with another parent who’s building a cool physical product with the help of Fable.

We both appreciate how quickly AI is being adopted and how useful it has become.

At the same time, we recognize that solving real-world challenges in biology and engineering still requires much more than an AI model.

[Chao Zheng @ChaosBioVC]

@hubermanlab What would certified USA made imply? Europe and China also manufacture high quality pharmaceutical products.

[Chao Zheng @ChaosBioVC]

@galeforceVC I will not do a follow on investment to a company that don’t send investor updates.

[Chao Zheng @ChaosBioVC]

@learnbiotech Nice summary. It would be interesting to see data from recent years, and compare US and China.

[Chao Zheng @ChaosBioVC]

@jefielding Just talked to a founder today and asked why he moved from SF to NYC. The answer is one word: crime…

[Chao Zheng @ChaosBioVC]

@brettcalhounn Idea is cheap. That’s why when founders ask for NDA too early, it’s often a sign of inexperience.

[Chao Zheng @ChaosBioVC]

@nlarusstone Agreed. It shows up on the pitch deck like a flashing red warning.

[Chao Zheng @ChaosBioVC]

@exosome I always wonder why dogs have certain complex innate behaviors.

[Chao Zheng @ChaosBioVC]

@m_goes_distance When frontier models are converging and open source is catching up, the edge will come from proprietary data. It has always been about data.

[Chao Zheng @ChaosBioVC]

@AndrewE_Dunn Not a bad exit for venture investors in a few years.

[Chao Zheng @ChaosBioVC]

@PhilipJohnston Fair point. I never paid much attention to advisors listed on the slides. If they give good advice to founders, it’s fine. They don’t add much credibility on a pitch deck.

[Chao Zheng @ChaosBioVC]

Founders sometimes don’t realize that every interaction with an investor is an evaluation.

Not just for the current fundraising round, but for future rounds as well.

Even when an investor passes today, the impression you leave can shape whether they invest down the road.

[Chao Zheng @ChaosBioVC]

How do companies in stealth mode pitch to investors if they’re unwilling to share much information?

[Chao Zheng @ChaosBioVC]

Listened to a few startup pitches today. It’s encouraging to see more companies integrating AI as a supporting tool, whether in an app or a digital workflow, rather than making AI the product itself.

This feels like a more natural adoption of AI, where the focus is on solving real problems rather than simply adding an AI label.