Basis Set Ventures
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Venture capital |
| Founded | 2017 |
| Founder | Lan Xuezhao |
| Headquarters | San Francisco , United States |
Area served | United States |
Key people | Lan Xuezhao (Founder) |
| Products | Venture capital funds |
| Website | basissetventures |
Basis Set Ventures is a United States-based venture capital firm that concentrates on early-stage funding for startups utilizing artificial intelligence technologies. Headquartered in San Francisco, California, the firm reported managing assets totaling $600 million as of 2025.
History
Established in 2017 by Lan Xuezhao, who formerly led Corporate Development at Dropbox and provided consultancy to technology clients at McKinsey & Company, Basis Set Ventures emphasizes innovation driven by AI. Lan Xuezhao is also an angel investor and founder of several companies, including Scale AI, and holds advanced academic credentials in statistics and psychology from the University of Michigan.
The firm introduced its inaugural fund in August 2017, followed by a second fund amounting to $165 million in April 2021. In February 2024, Basis Set announced its third fund with a capital commitment of $185 million. While most limited partners remain confidential, Foundry and Pivotal Ventures—led by Melinda French Gates—are publicly acknowledged investors.
Notable investments
- Quince
- Sakana
- Cusp
- OpenArt
- DataGrail
- Drata
- Thinking Machines
- Path
- Ergeon
Technology and research in investment strategy
Basis Set Ventures integrates machine learning techniques and proprietary technology to refine the sourcing and evaluation of investment opportunities.
The firm conducts research on large-scale datasets and artificial intelligence models to inform venture capital decisions, including the application of large language models (LLMs) to forecast startup performance and assess founder psychology.