Little-known Taiwanese investor makes a fortune alongside Li Ka-shing from early investment in Zoom
- Samuel Chen, who made his initial wealth through ink trading, took part in Zoom’s early funding rounds through his firm, Digital Mobile Venture
- Chen invested in Zoom after playing football with founder Eric Yuan in San Francisco as he liked the way Yuan conducted himself on the pitch
Some of the biggest names in finance and business made a fortune on Zoom Video Communications: Hong Kong’s Li Ka-shing, Tiger Global Management’s Chase Coleman and, of course, founder Eric Yuan, whose net worth has surged to US$10.7 billion.
And then there’s Samuel Chen, a little-known Taiwanese investor who made his initial wealth through ink trading and started putting money in the videoconferencing juggernaut about a decade ago.
Chen’s Digital Mobile Venture, which took part in Zoom’s early funding rounds, controls a US$1.6 billion stake, assuming it hasn’t sold stock since the holding was last disclosed at the end of March. Shares of Zoom, which recently reported a 170 per cent increase in first-quarter revenue, have surged 484 per cent since their initial public offering last year.
Chen is also a board member of Taiwan circuit maker Sonix Technology, and Digital Mobile is the biggest shareholder of Santa Clara, California-based Telenav, a maker of navigation software.
He keeps a low profile and doesn’t give interviews. Shumin Huang, a spokeswoman for Sonix, said he doesn’t engage in that firm’s daily operations. With respect to the Zoom investment, he considers himself lucky, she said.