Songyee Yoon is the Founder and Managing Partner of Principal Venture Partners (PVP), a Silicon Valley-based early-stage venture firm focused on AI-native companies. She is recognized for backing iconic startups such as Together.ai, Cartesia, and Sesame, and is known for her ability to identify and support companies shaping the next generation of technological infrastructure.

After graduating from the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Songyee earned her Ph.D. from MIT in Computational Neuroscience. Her deep belief in “play” as a catalyst for innovation led her to serve as president and chief strategy officer of NCSOFT, a global leader in video games, where she also founded its AI and NLP Centers to anticipate the impact of emerging technologies. This work eventually became the inspiration behind “Genius Girl” on the Korean TV show KAIST.

A longtime advocate for responsible AI, Songyee has championed the integration of ethics into computer science education through her philanthropy. At Stanford University, she serves on the advisory council for the Institute for Human-Centered AI and is an instructor of game development. She has also been a visiting fellow at RAND’s Center to Advance Racial Equity Policy. She is also a trustee of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, a board director of HP Inc. (NYSE: HPQ) and a member of the MIT Corporation, the university’s board of trustees.

Previously a member of South Korea’s Presidential Advisory Council for Science and Technology under two administrations, Songyee brings a global perspective on the intersection of technology, policy, and ethics. She was named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum and one of The Wall Street Journal’s “50 Women to Watch in Business.”