# Ian Lee > Ian Lee is a pre-seed investor at IDEO CoLab Ventures (Palo Alto) backing Cryptocurrency and News. See 5 investments, check sizes, portfolio. Updated Aug 2026. - Type: Angel Investor - Fund: [IDEO CoLab Ventures](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/ideo-colab) - Location: Palo Alto, United States - Total investments: 5 - Last investment: Jun 2022 - Lead investor: 20% - Last updated: Aug 2026 - X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/ianjohnlee - Website: https://www.ideocolab.com/ventures Ian Lee is a pre-seed investor at IDEO CoLab Ventures in Palo Alto focused on Cryptocurrency and News. Managing Director of IDEO CoLab Ventures + Startup Studio. I invest in early-stage startups and entrepreneurs, working with them to build a more open, distributed internet—one that's better for humans all over the globe—using blockchains, crypto-networks, and other decentralizing technologies. By applying human-centered design andcollaboration, I’m also working to re-humanize and reimagine the venture building process that better serves entrepreneurs and their users. ## Investment focus ### Industry | Industry | Investments | Share | | --- | --- | --- | | Cryptocurrency | 2 | 40% | | News | 1 | 20% | | Finance | 1 | 20% | | Blockchain | 1 | 20% | | Communities | 1 | 20% | 6 industries tracked in total. ### Stage | Stage | Investments | Share | | --- | --- | --- | | Pre-Seed | 2 | 40% | | Seed | 1 | 20% | | Series A | 1 | 20% | ## Investments | Company | Description | Amount | Stage | Date | Website | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Afropolitan | Afropolitan is creating a Digital Nation to enable all Africans to build abundant lives. The internet enables people to organize around shared values at scales that were previously unthinkable before the turn of the century. If it were a country, Facebook would be the largest one in the world. With the advent of cryptocurrency, the next Facebookwill not be a social network with a passive online community, but rather a full-blown digital country with its own native currency and shared purpose. We are building the first-ever internet country. | $2.1M | Pre-Seed | Jun 20, 2022 | | | Afropolitan | Afropolitan is creating a Digital Nation to enable all Africans to build abundant lives. The internet enables people to organize around shared values at scales that were previously unthinkable before the turn of the century. If it were a country, Facebook would be the largest one in the world. With the advent of cryptocurrency, the next Facebookwill not be a social network with a passive online community, but rather a full-blown digital country with its own native currency and shared purpose. We are building the first-ever internet country. | $2.1M | Pre-Seed | Jun 20, 2022 | | | Syndicate | Syndicate is a decentralized asset management platform and social network. | $20M | Series A | Aug 31, 2021 | | | The Defiant | The Defiant operates as an information company at the intersection of tech and finance. | $1.4M | Pre-Seed | Apr 12, 2021 | | | Syndicate | Syndicate is a decentralized asset management platform and social network. | $1M | Seed | Mar 17, 2021 | | 5 of 5 investments shown. ## Co-investors - [Archetype](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/archetypefund) — VC Fund, 2 deals together - [Atlantica Ventures](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/atlantica-ventures-ac1b) — VC Fund, 2 deals together - [CoinFund](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/coinfund) — VC Fund, 2 deals together - [Delphi Digital](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/delphi-digital) — VC Fund, 2 deals together - [Delphi Ventures](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/delphi-ventures-3169) — VC Fund, 2 deals together - [Electric Capital](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/electric-capital) — VC Fund, 2 deals together ## About IDEO CoLab Ventures VC Fund · Cambridge, United States IDEO CoLab Ventures is invest in early-stage distributed web startups and co-create with them to ship new products and protocols. 4 contacts available at IDEO CoLab Ventures. | Name | Title | Profile | | --- | --- | --- | | Daniel Hodd | Co-Founder & Venture Partner, IDEO CoLab Ventures | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/daniel-hodd-d8e4 | | Madeline Macartney | Investor | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/madeline-macartney | | Ian Lee | Co-Founder ,Venture Partner, IDEO CoLab Ventures | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/ian-lee-3 | | Matt Weiss | Co-Founder & Marketing Director & CEO | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/matt-weiss-aa33 | ## Similar investors ### Similar stage - [Antler](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/antler-be9c) — VC Fund - [Right Side Capital Management](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/right-side-capital-management) — VC Fund - [Everywhere Ventures](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/everywhere-ventures) — VC Fund ## FAQ ### What does Ian Lee invest in? Ian Lee invests primarily in Cryptocurrency, News and Finance startups, most often at Pre-Seed and Seed stage. Most of the 5 investments tracked by Shizune back companies in United States. The Investment Focus section breaks down every industry, stage and country in the portfolio. ### When did Ian Lee last invest? The most recent investment recorded for Ian Lee closed in Jun 2022. Shizune tracks 5 investments in total for this profile, including round sizes, stages and portfolio companies, all sourced from confirmed public funding rounds and refreshed monthly. ### Is Shizune's investor data accurate? Yes — every stat on this profile is calculated from confirmed public funding rounds monitored across hundreds of sources since 2020. This profile was last refreshed in Aug 2026 and is updated monthly. Spotted something off? Use the “Suggest an edit” link near the top of the page. # About Shizune Shizune.co is an investor database. 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