Wayne Hu

Partner

All Team
Investment
Wayne Hu

Wayne joined SignalFire to help form the initial investment team in 2015, and leads seed stage investments focused on consumer, emerging technology platform shifts, and historically innovation-sparse sectors that can be reinvented end-to-end.

Previously, Wayne was one of five consultants at McKinsey & Co a year to receive a Global Institute Fellowship to join MGI, named the top think tank in the world by several top academic institutions for its research on macro forces and technology trends transforming the economy’s largest sectors.

Before joining SignalFire, Wayne was the Global Strategy Lead for YouTube ads monetization, responsible for go-to-market strategy formulation for Google’s growing multi-billion-dollar video business. Earlier in his career, Wayne was an operator in the education sector, managing a team responsible for turnaround initiatives within Chicago’s public school system before transitioning into working and advising early stage ed tech companies.

Wayne received an MBA from Harvard Business School while also working on the investment team at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, focused on sectors such as transportation, robotics, and marketplaces. He graduated from Princeton University with a B.A in Mathematical Economics, Phi Beta Kappa, where he played on the men’s tennis team.

Wayne was taught to code by his parents from rural Taiwan who immigrated to the US to become engineers. While his first business selling TI-83 graphing calculator games built in Visual Basic did not pan out, today he lives out his childhood dreams by partnering with early-stage startups that are breaking down barriers to a more connected, open and educated society.

Stage focus

Seed

Series A & B

Sector Focus

Vertical SaaS

Consumer

Wayne Hu's Posts

Want to start the next billion-dollar AI company? Seven frameworks for AI-enabled vertical SaaS
Must-Read
November 5, 2024

Want to start the next billion-dollar AI company? Seven frameworks for AI-enabled vertical SaaS

Discover seven powerful strategies to build the next AI titan. Learn how to sidestep barriers, create data moats, and dominate industries with AI-driven solutions.
Customer collaboration is the key to vertical AI
Advice
October 29, 2024

Customer collaboration is the key to vertical AI

SignalFire brought together co-founders of three vertical AI startups to teach fellow builders how to collaborate with customers to build better products.
The business-in-a-box model: Grow Therapy’s playbook
Investment
August 29, 2024

The business-in-a-box model: Grow Therapy’s playbook

A look at how Grow Therapy used the business-in-a-box model to build trust, expand, and scale quickly
Funding Freshpaint's $30M Series B for HIPAA-compliant healthcare marketing
Portfolio
July 17, 2024

Funding Freshpaint's $30M Series B for HIPAA-compliant healthcare marketing

It’s illegal to use Facebook ads, Google Analytics, or YouTube to market many healthcare services if you don’t follow strict privacy laws.
Grow Therapy raises $88M to revamp mental health and the MSO playbook
Portfolio
April 8, 2024

Grow Therapy raises $88M to revamp mental health and the MSO playbook

Grow Therapy helps therapists launch, grow, and get insurance coverage for their own practice. After SignalFire led its Series A, Grow today announced an $88M Series C from Sequoia.
Copilots aren’t the future of SaaS: We’re shifting from tools to AI solutions
Investment
March 19, 2024

Copilots aren’t the future of SaaS: We’re shifting from tools to AI solutions

AI-powered services will unlock new end-to-end automations that are priced by the business impact they drive.
The next evolution of B2B marketing AI: Introducing Tofu
Portfolio
October 19, 2023

The next evolution of B2B marketing AI: Introducing Tofu

Discover Tofu, the game-changing AI for B2B marketing. Personalized, generative, and omnichannel-ready, it's time to revolutionize your marketing efforts.
LLMs: Legal language models and the end of legalese
Investment
September 21, 2023

LLMs: Legal language models and the end of legalese

AI has mastered a language that’s challenged humans for hundreds of years: legalese. And in this era of technological disruption, AI's penetration into the legal domain has transformative potential.
How EvenUp’s AI gets justice for personal injury victims
Portfolio
June 8, 2023

How EvenUp’s AI gets justice for personal injury victims

After investing in EvenUp’s seed round and leading the Series A, SignalFire is backing its $50.5M Series B to launch an AI legal assistant.
Funding 'Grow Therapy' to get mental health covered by insurance
Portfolio
September 29, 2022

Funding 'Grow Therapy' to get mental health covered by insurance

Grow Therapy builds tools that have helped over 3K therapists launch their own practices. SignalFire is excited to back Grow's $45M Series B.
Instead of hiring, skill up your employees with Modal
Portfolio
February 9, 2022

Instead of hiring, skill up your employees with Modal

SignalFire leads $6.8M seed round for Modal, the corporate learning platform that lets you train existing employees rather than recruiting
Tempo CEO Moawia Eldeeb: Homeless to $220M for in-home fitness
Portfolio
April 13, 2021

Tempo CEO Moawia Eldeeb: Homeless to $220M for in-home fitness

SignalFire seed investment Tempo raises $220 million Series C for its in-home fitness system with real weights and on-screen instructors
Vocational schools & CourseKey unlock the American Dream
Portfolio
March 3, 2021

Vocational schools & CourseKey unlock the American Dream

Vocational schools offer low debt alternatives to university, but lack software. That's why SignalFire is leading a $9M Series A for CourseKey
Partnering with BluBracket to build security at the speed of code
Portfolio
December 15, 2020

Partnering with BluBracket to build security at the speed of code

As Tesla, Symantec and others see their source code stolen and sold, businesses need BluBracket to secure their open source.