Ray Zhao

Ray Zhao is a China-based technology investor best known for his years as a Partner at DCM (DCM Ventures), a cross-border venture firm founded in 1996 that invests across China, Japan, and the United States. Zhao joined DCM in 2014 as a Principal and was promoted to Partner in December 2018, announced alongside U.S.-based partner Kyle Lui. Based in DCM's Beijing office, he led the firm's B2B software and marketplace investing.

Before DCM, Zhao built more than a decade of investing experience across strategic and financial roles. He worked at Tencent Investment, the investment arm of the Chinese internet giant, handling deals from early- to late-stage. Earlier he was a venture capital investor at Ventech Capital and an investment banker at China Renaissance, the boutique bank known for advising China's internet sector.

At DCM, Zhao developed a reputation for finding companies at inflection points in industries his peers overlooked. DCM co-founder and General Partner Hurst Lin described him this way at the time of his promotion: "In China, Ray has had a unique ability to find companies that are at an inflection point in industries that are not obvious to our peers."

Around 2021 Zhao moved from DCM to Trustar Capital — the private-equity affiliate of CITIC Capital Holdings, renamed from CITIC Capital Partners in March 2021 — where he became a Partner overseeing growth capital investment. He is no longer listed on DCM's current team page, and his LinkedIn now reflects a CITIC Capital / Trustar Capital affiliation. Because the contact details in this profile point to DCM, founders should confirm his current firm and reachability before outreach.

• Core focus: B2B software, enterprise services, and online marketplaces in China — plus B2B e-commerce and consumer internet.
• What makes him say yes: companies at an "inflection point in industries that are not obvious to our peers" — i.e., non-obvious, unglamorous verticals with large offline markets ripe for digitization.
• Stage: early-to-growth institutional venture at DCM (Series A and beyond), shifting toward growth capital after his move to Trustar Capital. The "seed/angel" label from aggregator data does not match his track record.
• Approach: deep, hands-on sourcing and involvement — he is credited with personally sourcing and staying closely involved with his flagship deals rather than passive check-writing.