# Ray Zhou

> Ray Zhou is the co-founder and a board member of Affinity, the relationship intelligence and CRM company he started with Stanford roommate Shubham Goel in 2014. Formerly co-CEO, he helped build software that organizes email and calendar data to support professional relationships and dealmaking. He and Goel were named to Forbes 30 Under 30 in Enterprise Technology for 2019.

- **Role:** Co-founder and Board Member at Affinity
- **Organizations:** Affinity, Stanford University, Amicus, Pear Garage
- **Education:** Computer science undergraduate studies; left before completing degree, Stanford University
- **Known for:** Co-founded Affinity in 2014., Forbes 30 Under 30, Enterprise Technology, class of 2019, with Shubham Goel., Helped build a company that reported more than 1,700 customers in 70 countries at its 2021 Series C.

## Career timeline

- **2012–2014** — Studied computer science at Stanford; met roommate and future co-founder Shubham Goel.
- **2013–2014** — Served as a Stanford CS106 section leader.
- **2014** — Co-founded Affinity and left Stanford.
- **2019** — Named with Goel to Forbes 30 Under 30 in Enterprise Technology.
- **2021** — Affinity raised an $80 million Series C led by Menlo Ventures.
- **2024** — Ken Fine became CEO in May; Zhou and Goel remained co-founders and board members.
- **2025** — Appeared on Platform Builders to discuss building Affinity and the evolution of SaaS.

## Achievements

- Co-founded Affinity in 2014.
- Forbes 30 Under 30, Enterprise Technology, class of 2019, with Shubham Goel.
- Helped build a company that reported more than 1,700 customers in 70 countries at its 2021 Series C.

## Latest updates

- **2025-04** — Appeared on Platform Builders on April 22 to discuss Affinity, customer problems, SaaS, and AI.
- **2024-12** — Published a Preqin perspective on three trends shaping private capital in 2025.
- **2024-05** — Moved from co-CEO to continuing co-founder and board member as Ken Fine became CEO.

## Links

- Website: https://www.affinity.co/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ray-zhou-02524761/
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/rzhou186

---

Profile page: https://yespress.io/ray-zhou
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-11