# Minal Hasan

> Minal Hasan is a Silicon Valley-born venture capitalist, ex-lawyer, and entrepreneur who co-founded K2 Global - one of the largest inaugural women-run VC funds in history at $183M - and now runs Cyphr VC, a solo-GP seed fund focused on fintech, cybersecurity, and regulated tech infrastructure. Raised inside boardrooms (literally), she parlayed a dual career in Big Law and product marketing into becoming one of Silicon Valley's sharpest early-stage investors, with a portfolio spanning Palantir, Spotify, Coinbase, Airbnb, and 8 unicorns.

- **Role:** Founder & General Partner at Cyphr VC
- **Organizations:** Cyphr VC, K2 Global, Stanford Angels & Entrepreneurs, Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP, Fenwick & West, Gunderson Dettmer
- **From:** Cupertino, California, USA
- **Nationality:** American (Indian heritage)
- **Education:** Bachelor's Degree, University of Southern California, Juris Doctor (JD), UC Berkeley School of Law
- **Known for:** Co-raised the largest inaugural women-run VC fund in Silicon Valley history ($183M, K2 Global, 2017), Invested $240M+ across 30+ startups through K2 Global and angel investing, K2 Global portfolio produced 8 unicorns and 10 IPOs including Spotify, Coinbase, Palantir, Paytm

## Career timeline

- **Early career** — Journalist and editorial columnist at San Jose Mercury News
- **Early career** — Computer programmer and product marketer in the startup ecosystem
- **2000s** — Law clerk at U.S. District Court, Northern District of California
- **2000s** — Law clerk at Gunderson Dettmer
- **2000s** — Associate attorney at Fenwick & West (3 years)
- **2000s-2014** — Of Counsel at Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP; handled 150+ venture financings, billions in M&A and IPOs for clients including Twitter, Uber, Square, Medium
- **2014** — Co-founded K2 Global with Ozi Amanat
- **2014-2016** — Vice President, Stanford Angels & Entrepreneurs
- **2016** — Founded Cyphr VC as solo-GP seed fund focused on regulated tech infrastructure
- **2017** — K2 Global closes $183M inaugural fund - largest women-run inaugural VC fund in Silicon Valley history
- **2020** — Launched 'The Cyphr' newsletter on Substack covering VC trends and fintech infrastructure
- **2016-present** — Building Cyphr VC portfolio in fintech, cybersecurity, semiconductors, AI

## Achievements

- Co-raised the largest inaugural women-run VC fund in Silicon Valley history ($183M, K2 Global, 2017)
- Invested $240M+ across 30+ startups through K2 Global and angel investing
- K2 Global portfolio produced 8 unicorns and 10 IPOs including Spotify, Coinbase, Palantir, Paytm
- Authored secondary sale processes as a VC lawyer that became Silicon Valley industry standard
- Oversaw 150+ venture financings and billions of dollars in M&A and IPO transactions as legal counsel
- Clients as VC lawyer included Twitter, Uber, Square, Medium, Zuora, HTC, Robin Hood
- Completed undergraduate degree in 2 years at USC
- Adviser to Coinbase, Robinhood, PayTM, Circle, Digital Currency Group
- Jury member, Women Who Tech Women Startup Challenge Emerging Tech Grants Program
- Featured in Wall Street Journal, TechCrunch, Forbes, Fortune, Bloomberg, Financial Times

## Latest updates

- **2024** — Continuing to invest from Cyphr VC in pre-seed and seed stage regulated tech startups
- **2023** — K2 Global fund fully deployed, exited, and nearly wound down after portfolio included 8 unicorns and 10 IPOs
- **2020** — Launched 'The Cyphr' newsletter on Substack covering VC trends, emerging fund structures, and tech infrastructure

## Links

- Website: https://www.cyphrvc.xyz/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/minalhasan/
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/minal_hasan

---

Profile page: https://yespress.io/minal-hasan
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-04-27