Key Takeaways
- • Ondine Capital announced the first close of its third USD-denominated venture capital fund, Ondine Capital Fund III, on November 3, 2026, with commitments from institutional and strategic limited partners including several leading Taiwanese semiconductor enterprises.
- • Fund III will invest across the full AI value chain, including AI foundation models, next-generation semiconductors, AI infrastructure, AI-native software, and physical AI applications.
- • Early portfolio highlights cited by the firm include Recursive Superintelligence, which recently raised $650 million at a $4 billion pre-money valuation led by Google Ventures, and Salience Labs, which recently closed a $125 million round led by Bullhound Capital.
- • Ondine Capital appointed Brian Yen, formerly Principal and Head of the Taipei Office at Headline Asia, as Partner to strengthen its global sourcing and founder network.
Summary
Ondine Capital, a Taipei-based venture capital firm, announced the successful first close of Ondine Capital Fund III, its third USD-denominated VC fund, according to a Media OutReach Newswire release dated November 3, 2026. The fund has secured commitments from top-tier institutional and strategic limited partners, including several leading semiconductor enterprises in Taiwan. The release did not disclose the target size or the amount raised at first close. Ondine describes the firm as focused on frontier technologies, including semiconductors, artificial intelligence, enterprise software, clean energy, and emerging technology platforms.
Building on the firm's semiconductor and deep technology expertise, Fund III will invest across the full AI value chain, spanning AI foundation models, next-generation semiconductors, AI infrastructure, AI-native software, and physical AI applications. The firm cited three early portfolio companies. Recursive Superintelligence, founded by former Salesforce Chief Scientist Richard Socher, recently raised $650 million at a $4 billion pre-money valuation led by Google Ventures, with participation from Nvidia and AMD. Bot Auto, founded by Xiaodi Hou, former co-founder and CTO of TuSimple, is a Houston-based physical AI company focused on autonomous freight; it recently partnered with Ryan Transportation to launch driverless freight operations along the Houston-Dallas corridor. Salience Labs, which develops silicon-photonics optical switching technology for AI data centers and partners with Tower Semiconductor, recently closed a $125 million round led by Bullhound Capital, with strategic backing from AMD Ventures and Intel Capital.
Coinciding with the first close, Ondine appointed Brian Yen as Partner. Yen previously served as Principal and Head of the Taipei Office at Headline Asia, where his investments included respond.io, forest inc., Braid, and iMotorbike across consumer technology, agentic services, and physical AI. Yen said the convergence of AI and semiconductors is creating unprecedented opportunities and that the firm anticipates significant value creation across the entire stack. Ondine said it continues to deploy capital and evaluate global opportunities across the AI and semiconductor landscape.
Building on the firm's semiconductor and deep technology expertise, Fund III will invest across the full AI value chain, spanning AI foundation models, next-generation semiconductors, AI infrastructure, AI-native software, and physical AI applications. The firm cited three early portfolio companies. Recursive Superintelligence, founded by former Salesforce Chief Scientist Richard Socher, recently raised $650 million at a $4 billion pre-money valuation led by Google Ventures, with participation from Nvidia and AMD. Bot Auto, founded by Xiaodi Hou, former co-founder and CTO of TuSimple, is a Houston-based physical AI company focused on autonomous freight; it recently partnered with Ryan Transportation to launch driverless freight operations along the Houston-Dallas corridor. Salience Labs, which develops silicon-photonics optical switching technology for AI data centers and partners with Tower Semiconductor, recently closed a $125 million round led by Bullhound Capital, with strategic backing from AMD Ventures and Intel Capital.
Coinciding with the first close, Ondine appointed Brian Yen as Partner. Yen previously served as Principal and Head of the Taipei Office at Headline Asia, where his investments included respond.io, forest inc., Braid, and iMotorbike across consumer technology, agentic services, and physical AI. Yen said the convergence of AI and semiconductors is creating unprecedented opportunities and that the firm anticipates significant value creation across the entire stack. Ondine said it continues to deploy capital and evaluate global opportunities across the AI and semiconductor landscape.
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