Yang Yigang

Yang Yigang is the co-founder, CEO and Managing Partner of WaterStar Capital, an Atlanta-based high-tech venture capital firm he established in 2015 with co-founder Carina Cao (Cao Shupeng). He brings roughly three decades of experience across North American, Greater China and international capital markets, with a career spanning investment banking, M&A and fund management. By the firm's own account, his track record includes leading M&A transactions totaling approximately $4 billion in assets, establishing and overseeing ten funds, and completing twenty-eight deals ranging from early stage to IPO.

Before founding WaterStar, Yang was CEO of what the firm describes as the largest agricultural and food investment private-equity fund in Asia, the COFCO Agricultural Industry Investment Fund. Earlier, in 2009 he served as President of Tianjin Yanshan Capital Management Co., Ltd., where he established the first Chinese leasing-industry fund. His banking career included roles as Managing Director at Asia Capital Group and Vice President at Credit Suisse First Boston in New York (and Chief Credit Officer at the Credit Suisse Beijing Representative Office), spanning roughly 1994–2009. He has also served as a director of the Australian public company BUDERIM GROUP.

WaterStar relocated from Seattle to Atlanta in early 2019. Since then, Yang has led three VC funds under WaterStar management, investing in roughly 15 American and Canadian high-tech startups. He sits on the boards of several portfolio companies, including LumiThera Inc., KitoTech Medical Inc., Seattle Gummy Company and Product Creation Studio, Ltd. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Capital University of Economics and Business (Beijing). He was recognized in the 2022 "GAT 25 Most Influential Asian Americans in Georgia" list.

• Built around a patent-driven / IP-driven investment philosophy — the firm positions itself as the "Strategic and Financial Partner" for "small companies with big technology," favoring startups with strong intellectual property.
• Sector concentration in high technology, medical devices / life sciences, and AI (e.g., photobiomodulation medical devices, microsurgical wound closure, biotech, imaging sensors).
• Invests across seed/early stage through IPO, frequently taking board seats and an active operating-partner role rather than passive checks.
• Cross-border bridge: leverages Greater China capital-market relationships to back North American (US/Canada) startups, providing strategic, financial and IP-advisory support alongside funding.