# kyu Collective

> kyu Collective is a VC fund in New York backing News and EdTech. See 2 investments, check sizes, portfolio and contact details. Updated Aug 2026.

- Type: VC Fund
- Location: New York, United States
- Total investments: 2
- Last investment: Jun 2022
- Lead investor: 50%
- Last updated: Aug 2026
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/kyu-collective
- X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/kyu_collective
- Website: https://www.kyu.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thekyucollective/

kyu Collective is a VC fund in New York focused on News and EdTech. Kyu is largely a collection of advertising, marketing, and design firms. creativity is the lifeblood of kyu. It's core to what they bring to their clients. It's core to what they bring to the opportunities and societal impact work that unites their clients. They are inventing, creating, and prototyping new forms of creativecollaboration—in, and across, all disciplines. And that starts by looking for, hiring, and nurturing the creativity in their people.

## Contacts

5 contacts available for kyu Collective. Shizune tracks 4 team members at kyu Collective. Sign up free to unlock them: https://app.shizune.co/sign-up/investor-profiles/find-team-emails/kyu-collective?utm_source=investor_profile

## Investment focus

### Industry

| Industry | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| News | 1 | 50% |
| EdTech | 1 | 50% |
| Freelance | 1 | 50% |
| Blockchain | 1 | 50% |
| Millennials | 1 | 50% |

7 industries tracked in total.

### Stage

| Stage | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Seed | 1 | 50% |
| Series C | 1 | 50% |

### Country

| Country | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| United States | 1 | 50% |
| United Kingdom | 1 | 50% |

## Team

| Name | Title | Investments | Profile |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| AJ Hughes | CFO | 0 | — |
| Keith Yamashita | Founding executive council | 0 | — |
| Michael Birkin | Chief Executive Officer | 0 | — |
| Tim Brown | Vice Chair | 1 | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/tim-brown |

## Investments

| Company | Description | Amount | Stage | Date | Website |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Neol | Neol is a technology company that develops an AI-powered network intelligence and talent management platform designed to help organizations understand, manage, and mobilize their professional networks. The platform transforms fragmented organizational data about people, partners, and communities into a structured intelligence layer that allowscompanies to discover expertise, connect collaborators, and assemble teams more efficiently. | $5.2M | Seed | Jun 21, 2022 |  |
| Mic Network | Mic is the leading digital news company for society’s changemakers, who most influence and impact the world. The company also offers news on various sections, such as politics, world, business, culture, science, media, national, environment, and economy. Mic reaches a monthly audience of 50 million with original reporting on the most importantissues through diverse perspectives that challenge conventional thinking. It was founded in 2012 and is based in New York, NY, USA. | $21M | Series C | Apr 07, 2017 |  |

2 of 2 investments shown.

## Co-investors
- [Advancit Capital](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/advancit-capital) — VC Fund, 1 deal together
- [Alumni Ventures](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/alumni-ventures-group) — VC Fund, 1 deal together
- [1745 Ventures](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/bertelsmann-digital-media-investments) — VC Fund, 1 deal together
- [FJ Labs](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/fj-labs) — VC Fund, 1 deal together
- [Galata Business Angels](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/galata-business-angels) — VC Fund, 1 deal together
- [Global Ventures](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/global-ventures) — VC Fund, 1 deal together

## Similar investors

### Similar stage
- [Antler](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/antler-be9c) — VC Fund
- [Alumni Ventures](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/alumni-ventures-group) — VC Fund
- [Right Side Capital Management](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/right-side-capital-management) — VC Fund

## FAQ

### What does kyu Collective invest in?

kyu Collective invests primarily in News, EdTech and Freelance startups, most often at Seed and Series C stage. Most of the 2 investments tracked by Shizune back companies in United States. The Investment Focus section breaks down every industry, stage and country in the portfolio.

### How do I contact kyu Collective?

Public channels for kyu Collective include LinkedIn, X (Twitter) and the website linked on this profile. For a verified work email and phone number, create a free Shizune account — contact data is searched across 20+ sources and validated before delivery, so your outreach lands in the right inbox.

### Who are the partners at kyu Collective?

The team at kyu Collective includes AJ Hughes (CFO), Keith Yamashita (Founding executive council) and Michael Birkin (Chief Executive Officer). The Team section lists each member with their title, investment count and links.

### 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.

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