Sonny Vu

Sonny Vu is an entrepreneur, investor, and deep tech builder whose career spans science, consumer technology, and global impact. Before entering the startup sector, Vu worked at Microsoft Research in natural language processing under Kai-Fu Lee and pursued a doctorate in linguistics at MIT under Noam Chomsky. This combination of academic experience and engineering expertise established the foundation for an entrepreneurial path across multiple industries and continents.

Vu has founded five companies, including Misfit, which achieved a $260 million exit. Misfit developed wearable and smart home products such as "Shine" and "Flash," activity and sleep monitors, while AgaMatrix produced the first iPhone-connected hardware medical device and more than 15 FDA-cleared products. The screenless "Misfit Shine" was designed for discreet fitness tracking, and Misfit's technology continued after its acquisition by Fossil Group, with its intellectual property later integrated into Wear OS following a sale to Google. Vu also founded Elemental Machines, focused on remote process monitoring and analytics, and FireSpout, a natural language processing company.

After Misfit's acquisition, Vu served as president and chief technology officer of Connected Devices at Fossil Group. He later led Arevo, a Silicon Valley company developing technology for direct digital additive manufacturing of composite parts for end-use applications at scale. Throughout his career, Vu has worked to develop technologies, processes, and products that address safety and environmental challenges.

Vu serves as chief builder for Liminal, a Temasek-founded group based in Singapore and Boston that collaborates with and invests in unicorn and repeat founders to build new ventures, focusing on hardtech themes in advanced materials, industrial biotech, semiconductors, enterprise artificial intelligence, and healthtech. He has served as an investor, advisor, or director in more than 50 startups spanning artificial intelligence, biotechnology, robotics, materials, and healthtech. Vu is a frequent speaker on entrepreneurship and innovation at global forums and conferences, drawing on a career defined by scientific advancement and a commitment to building technology that serves society.