•
How to Cut Through the AI Hype
Talks about Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning and Deep Learning
RG
Rayfe Gaspar-asaoka
Partner at Canaan
United States
Overview
Rayfe Gaspar-Asaoka is a Partner at Canaan, with a focus on investing in Seed and Series A stages within sectors like Local Services, IoT, and AI. With a Master of Science from Stanford University, he has made significant investments in companies like Apex.AI and Edge Impulse, showcasing his expertise in identifying and supporting innovative startups in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Work Experience
Partner
2020 - 2025
Canaan is an early stage venture capital firm with $7B+ under management and currently investing out of Fund 13. We lead investments in Seed / Series A / Series B investments in technology and healthcare.
Principal
2018 - 2020
Investment Professional
2015 - 2018
Canaan is an early-stage venture capital firm that invests in visionaries with transformative ideas.
Board Member
2024 - 2025
https://www.enterpret.com/
Enterpret analyzes customer feedback using AI and NLP, offering tailored insights for product growth.
Raised $25,100,000.00 from Kleiner Perkins, Recall Capital, Nan Yu, Canaan Partners, WIND Ventures, Lauryn Motamedi, Andrew Berman, Wing Venture Capital, Peak XV Partners and Elena Verna.
Board Member
2022 - 2025
https://tropicapp.io/
Tropic is a software platform that offers full-service procurement solutions for tech-forward companies.
Raised $67,100,000.00 from Insight Partners.
Board Observer
2021 - 2025
https://www.keplercommunications.com/
Board Member
2019 - 2025
https://fireflies.ai/
Fireflies.ai offers an AI Meeting assistant that records, transcribes, and makes searchable meeting notes.
Raised $19,000,000.00 from Khosla Ventures and Canaan Partners.
Board Member
2018 - 2025
https://www.apex.ai/
Apex.AI specializes in software systems for robotic and autonomous vehicles.
Raised $71,969,973.00 from Daimler Truck.
Board Member
2021 - 2025
https://www.edgeimpulse.com/ Acquired by Qualcomm in 2025 https://www.qualcomm.com/news/releases/2025/03/qualcomm-to-bolster-ai-and-iot-capabilities-with-edge-impulse-ac https://www.edgeimpulse.com/blog/edge-impulse-qualcomm-acquisition/
Edge Impulse is the platform for developing intelligent devices using embedded machine learning.
Raised $54,400,000.00 from Momenta, Knollwood Investment Advisory, Fika Ventures, Canaan Partners, Acrew Capital and Coatue.
Board Member
2020 - 2024
READY Robotics seeks to empower manufacturers to be more competitive through industrial robots.
Raised $41,500,000.00 from Rockwell Automation.
Class 25
2020 - 2022
https://www.kauffmanfellows.org/
Co-investment VC firm supporting the mission of the Kauffman Fellows
Mentor
2018 - 2020
https://www.creativedestructionlab.com/