Wei Dai

Wei is a research partner at 1kx, where he focuses on research and investment in financial and security infrastructure within AI, blockchain, and frontier technologies.

At 1kx and previously at Bain Capital Crypto, Wei led investments and worked hands-on with over a dozen portfolio companies across zero‑knowledge, blockchain protocols, AI, and security‑critical systems.

Before becoming a venture investor, he published more than a dozen academic papers on security, cryptography, & blockchains, designed, developed, and deployed blockchain & privacy protocols, and advised numerous startups building financial and security infrastructure. He holds a PhD in Computer Science (with specialization in cryptography) from the University of California, San Diego. 

Wei aims to be a thoughtful partner to founders and a measured expert voice to the general public on topics including AI safety and security, digital asset infrastructure, and how security & cryptography can harden agentic software systems