Jenny Xiao
Jenny Xiao is a venture capitalist, researcher, and Partner at Leonis Capital, a trailblazer in AI-focused investments. At Leonis Capital, she partners with technical founders to build AI-first companies to drive innovation in the space. She bridges the gap between cutting-edge research and venture capital, utilizing her deep academic expertise to guide investments in the rapidly evolving AI landscape. Initially on a path to academia, Jenny pursued a Ph.D. at Columbia University, where she conducted groundbreaking research on AI capabilities and international cooperation, including work at OpenAI. Today, she invests in seed and pre-seed companies in AI-powered verticals, ML developer tools, and AI-driven enterprise SaaS.
Jenny Xiao Professional Experience / Academic History
Professional Experience
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Partner
Academic History
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Ph.D., AI/ML and Political Economy
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ML and Economics
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Bachelors Degree
CURRENT AFFILIATIONS
EXPERTISE & EARLY CAREER
Jenny is a researcher-turned-venture capitalist with a strong background in AI, economics, and politics.
Originally focused on academia, she shifted her focus from academia to the startup ecosystem, driven by a desire to create real-world impact.
She worked as a Researcher for OpenAI and served as a Research Fellow for the Future of Humanity Institute at Oxford University.
She previously conducted Ph.D. research at Columbia University, where her dissertation examined the AI industry in the U.S. and China.
MEDIA & APPEARANCES
Jenny has been featured in Bloomberg, Fortune, and Financial Times.
Her work on the global LLM landscape has appeared in Foreign Affairs, the Wall Street Journal, and the Economist.
She has appeared as a guest on Real Vision.