Daniel Sun

Partner. Shanghai.

Having grown up in a small town, Daniel always remembers the care, love and blessing from his family and many ordinary fellows around. The experience shaped who he is now, more importantly, it inspired him to try his best to help the outstanding entrepreneurs whom he expects to contribute to a better life for those ordinary people.

Daniel decided to join Lightspeed in 2021, and what attracts him most is “transparency.”

“Here we are transparent on every project. We can openly share our concerns and learnings. In my mind, the more transparent a working environment is, the more learnings people can get, as well as more trust between colleagues. I believe Lightspeed is exactly such a place,” Daniel says.

With 11 years of venture and growth capital investment experience and 8 years of industry experience, Danie is leading Lightspeed China’s Growth capital investment. “I have always been obsessed with Growth. Initially, it’s about my personal growth in knowledge and experience. Gradually I realize what motivates me is the joy coming from the growth I helped to generate, in business ventures, for the entrepreneurs as well as family and friends.”

Daniel focuses on investment opportunities in multiple sectors including consumer internet, emerging brands/services, trading platforms and fintech. His key investments include Boss Zhiping (Nasdaq: BZ), Zhangmen Education (NYSE: ZM), Qihoo (SHSE: 610360), Wuxi Pharma (HKSE: 02359, SHSE: 603259), Lexin (Nasdaq: LX) and Yesmywine (Acquired by Googut).

Prior to joining Lightspeed, Daniel worked as Managing Director at China Renaissance New Economy Fund for 6 years. At China Renaissance, Daniel co-led the consumer and TMT investment efforts and focused on digitalizing service sectors including education, finance and healthcare.

Before China Renaissance, he works as Executive Director at Chengwei Ventures for 5 years, focusing on e-commerce, gaming and education investments. Prior to that, Daniel spent 4 years in McKinsey & Co, advising both MNCs clients and domestic giants on critical strategic directions, shaping their market entry strategies, and enhancing their products and operation processes.

Daniel holds a B.Econ. in Accounting and an MS in Management from Tsinghua University, and an MBA degree from Harvard Business School.

In his leisure time, Daniel loves reading. He thinks reading constantly brings him new angles, deeps his understandings, and reminds him of keeping an open mindset for new ideas, new ventures and new possibilities.