Roger Luo

Roger is Founder & Managing Partner of Embedding VC -- an early stage venture fund in Silicon Valley to back Generative AI startups. Roger was a seasoned entrepreneur, having co-founded two AI SaaS startups (Eve.Legal 🦄, raised $163M from A16Z, Lightspeed, Spark Capital and Menlo Ventures; Mosaix AI, YC, exited), where he spearheaded efforts in engineering, machine learning, and product management. Beyond his startup experience, Roger held roles leading machine learning and applied science teams at technology companies like Niantic, Snap, and Yahoo! Labs. He earned his PhD on machine learning in 2011, and has contributed over 40 papers in top AI/ML conferences and journals and 8 US patents in AI. Roger is also an active angel investor and venture scout/partner, with investments in over ~40 startups (3 IPOs, 9 exits). Three portfolio companies he backed at pre-seed/seed stage became unicorns and went public. Roger co-founded and manages the Engineering Leaders Community Angels syndicate, focusing on early-stage AI/DevToolsI/SaaS deals. This community connects nearly 10,000 Silicon Valley engineering leaders from over 3,000 companies. In winter, Roger part-time coaches junior skiers with Team Palisades Tahoe on weekends. He’s passionate about the sport, and he thinks it holds one of the best lessons for founders and early-stage investors. In skiing, there’s a fundamental paradox: when beginners face a steep slope or pick up speed, their instinct is to lean back — away from the danger. It feels safer. But it’s exactly the wrong move. Sitting back unloads the front of the ski, and you lose the ability to turn or control your line. The counterintuitive truth is that you have to lean forward — towards the fall line, into the very thing that scares you — to regain control. Startups and early-stage investing work the same way. The founders and investors who lean forward — who commit into uncertainty with conviction — are the ones who carve clean lines. Lean in, trust your edges ⛷️.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​