# Jeff Zheng

> Jeff Zheng is the founder and CEO of NewsBreak, a U.S. local news and information platform founded in Mountain View in 2015. A computer science Ph.D. and former Yahoo executive, he worked on search relevance, personalized recommendations and mobile discovery before becoming a technology entrepreneur. His current work includes NewsBreak and its newer local services and publisher technology ventures, Nearby AI and NDot AI.

- **Role:** Founder and CEO at NewsBreak, Nearby AI and NDot AI
- **Organizations:** NewsBreak (Particle Media, Inc.), Nearby AI, NDot AI, Yahoo!, Yidian Zixun
- **Education:** Bachelor’s degree, Electrical Engineering, Tsinghua University, M.S., Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Ph.D., Computer Science, University at Buffalo, State University of New York
- **Known for:** Founded NewsBreak in 2015 and led it through a $115 million Series C announced in January 2021., NewsBreak reached unicorn status in 2021., Founded Yahoo Labs in China after work on search relevance and personalized recommendations.

## Career timeline

- **Before 2015** — Spent seven years at Yahoo, working on search relevance and personalized recommendations and founding Yahoo Labs in China.
- **2011-2012** — Moved into mobile entrepreneurship and founded Yidian Zixun; accounts differ on the start year.
- **2015** — Founded NewsBreak in Mountain View, California.
- **2016** — NewsBreak launched iOS and Android apps.
- **2020** — Harry Shum joined NewsBreak as board chairman.
- **2021** — NewsBreak announced $115 million in Series C funding led by Francisco Partners.
- **2022** — NewsBreak launched its national Contributor Network.
- **2025** — NewsBreak introduced NBot beta and was ranked 32nd on Fast Company’s Best Workplaces for Innovators list.
- **2026** — NewsBreak launched SPOTLIGHTS and appointed Nicolas Zylberstein chief business officer to support NewsBreak, Nearby AI and NDot AI.

## Achievements

- Founded NewsBreak in 2015 and led it through a $115 million Series C announced in January 2021.
- NewsBreak reached unicorn status in 2021.
- Founded Yahoo Labs in China after work on search relevance and personalized recommendations.
- Company biography credits Zheng with dozens of academic papers and U.S. patents.

## Latest updates

- **2026-09** — NewsBreak appointed Nicolas Zylberstein chief business officer; the announcement identified Zheng as founder and CEO of NewsBreak, Nearby AI and NDot AI.
- **2026-05** — Launched SPOTLIGHTS, a neighborhood distribution program for small-business stories.
- **2025-09** — Discussed team autonomy and cross-team contributions after NewsBreak’s Fast Company workplace recognition.
- **2025-05** — NewsBreak introduced the NBot beta conversational assistant.

## Links

- Website: https://newsbreak.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nbjeff
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/newsbreakApp
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/newsbreakapp/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/jeff-zheng
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-07