# Z Ventures

> Z Ventures is a VC fund in Vernon Hills backing News and Software. See 2 investments, round sizes, portfolio and contact details. Updated Aug 2026.

- Type: VC Fund
- Location: Vernon Hills, United States
- Total investments: 2
- Last investment: Feb 2023
- Lead investor: 50%
- Last updated: Aug 2026
- Website: http://www.zventure.org

Z Ventures is a boutique search firm passionate about finding mutually beneficial solutions.

## Contacts

5 contacts available for Z Ventures. Shizune tracks 1 team members at Z Ventures. Sign up free to unlock them: https://app.shizune.co/sign-up/investor-profiles/find-team-emails/z-ventures?utm_source=investor_profile

## Investment focus

### Industry

| Industry | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| News | 1 | 50% |
| Software | 1 | 50% |
| Social News | 1 | 50% |
| Social Media | 1 | 50% |
| Artificial Intelligence | 1 | 50% |

### Stage

| Stage | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Seed | 1 | 50% |
| Angel | 1 | 50% |

### Country

| Country | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| China | 1 | 50% |
| India | 1 | 50% |

## Team

| Name | Title | Investments | Profile |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Chaz Branham | Founder | 0 | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/chaz-branham |

## Investments

| Company | Description | Round size | Stage | Date | Website |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Weekly10 | Weekly10 Inc offers an AI-powered platform designed to redefine virtual interaction experiences, making every conversation feel like a face-to-face interaction. The platform features virtual conference rooms that ensure clarity and reliability, real-time synchronization of thoughts and ideas, fostering collaboration and innovation with everymeeting. With over 5,000 active downloads and 15 awards, VirtuMeetAI stands as a testament to excellence in virtual communication, transforming the way users communicate by providing ease of use and unmatched clarity. The company is committed to breaking the barriers of time and space, enabling users to connect, collaborate, and create limitless interactions. | $650K | Seed | Feb 02, 2023 |  |
| pencilnews | The authenticity and trustworthiness of China media have been challenged by foreign press for decades. Media or reporters are often paid (bribed) to write articles on “customers” behave.  The truth is, the local people doubt about media as well and in the startup world, it is no exception.  The founder of PencilNews, Fang Wang, has experienced itfirsthand and changing the immorality and the unprofessionalism becomes his passion. he mission of PencilNews is to provide the true information about early stage startup.  PencilNews has no ads, no paid articles, no articles based on speculation and of course, reporters are restrictedly prohibited to receive money or any incentive for writing.  As the slogan “The pencil never lies, the legend never dies”, PencilNews has been VC’s favorite media in China and has funded by SoftBank, Bertelsmann, K2VC, ZhenFund, InnoAngel and etc. for approximately 15M RMB in total.Every PencilNews article is written by our own reporters and interview founders directly through phone conversation or face-to-face meeting with voice recording to back up the authenticity of articles. Because of the diversity of startup and the flourishing ecosystem in China, PencilNews has covered startups from the agriculture, fish, livestock industry to the entertainment, gaming, education, manufacturing, smart devices and full of diverse industries.  The trustworthy articles have caught investor’s needs to discover early stage startups and became the first choice for startups to understand the market situation and customer needs. | $1M | Angel | Nov 03, 2016 |  |

2 of 2 investments shown.

## Co-investors
- [SBCVC](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/softbank-china-venture-capital) — VC Fund, 1 deal together
- [zVentures](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/zventures) — VC Fund, 1 deal together

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### Similar stage
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- [Right Side Capital Management](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/right-side-capital-management) — VC Fund

## FAQ

### What does Z Ventures invest in?

Z Ventures invests primarily in News, Software and Social News startups, most often at Seed and Angel stage. Most of the 2 investments tracked by Shizune back companies in China. The Investment Focus section breaks down every industry, stage and country in the portfolio.

### How do I contact Z Ventures?

Public channels for Z Ventures include 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 Z Ventures?

The team at Z Ventures includes Chaz Branham (Founder). 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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