Paul Hsiao

Paul Hsiao is a General Partner at Canvas Venture Fund, where he focuses on partnering with innovators building mobile software, proprietary data graphs and large peer networks. A seasoned entrepreneur, operator and venture investor, Paul is on a mission to find early-stage companies that are tackling big, intractable problems and driving progress in marketplaces, enterprise, education, real estate and gaming, where he has deep domain expertise. Paul joined Canvas in May 2014 from New Enterprise Associates (NEA)—a global investment firm with $14 billion in assets under management — where he spent 10 years as a partner in the firm’s Menlo Park office. During his time at NEA, he worked with seven companies that have since gone public on the NASDAQ or NYSE and helped lead tens of companies to successful acquisitions. Some of his more noted investments include Houzz, Gaikai, Boingo, Elance-oDesk, SayMedia, and 42Floors, where he served on the boards. Before taking the plunge into the world of venture capital, Paul founded a venture-backed startup called Mazu Networks, a pioneer in network security that was built from technology developed at MIT. Today, the company provides enterprise IT organizations with the ability to manage, secure and optimize their business services. Paul went on to serve as President and later VP of Product at Mazu, before the company’s sale to Riverbed Technology in 2009. Paul began his career working in product development at medical device giant, Medtronic, and leading market entry strategy for China at McKinsey & Company. He earned his BSc in Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering from MIT and his MBA from Harvard Business School.