HAn CHEN

Co-Founder and CEO

ZeaKal, Inc.

Han Chen is the Co-Founder and CEO of ZeaKal, Inc. Han brings with him over fifteen years of management and venture experience. He has been a pioneer in changing how agricultural trait technologies are commercialized, focusing on innovative public-private partnerships between industry, venture, and research. To date, Han has started and successfully raised financing for three startups, totaling over twenty million in capital.

Han is also the co-founder and Managing Director of Kapyon Ventures, a technology incubation firm behind the pre-venture development of ZeaKal. Prior to founding ZeaKal and Kapyon, Han was the Investment Manager for Finistere Partners, a San Diego-based life science venture capital firm. He was responsible for seeding the deal flow of a nine million dollar strategic investment fund that resulted in the formation of several startups, generation of millions in research funding, and also several technology licensing opportunities.

Han graduated magna cum laude from Amherst College and has a master’s degree in international business from the University of California, San Diego. He is also a CFA Charterholder.

Check out Larta Institute’s

Deeper Dive Podcast Episode

with Han Chen

Deeper Dive is a monthly limited series that will focus on the innovators and issues that are redefining global agriculture. Larta Institute has assisted and transformed over 10,000 early-stage innovations, working with entrepreneurs to help them achieve measurable goals and access specialized expertise through a unique network of industry experts and award-winning commercialization programs.