Investor profile
Aileen Lee
Founder & Managing Partner, Cowboy Ventures
Coined the term "unicorn" and built one of the first data-driven seed funds.
Aileen Lee spent over a decade at Kleiner Perkins, working hands-on with companies from Series A through IPO, including Bloom Energy, Rent the Runway and Trendyol.
In 2012 she founded Cowboy Ventures, a seed-stage fund backing teams reimagining work and personal life. In 2013 she published the research that coined "unicorn" for billion-dollar startups, turning a loose pattern into a dataset the industry still cites.
Notable
Visit Cowboy Ventures ↗Coined the term "unicorn" for billion-dollar startups.
Facts here reflect public reporting at time of writing — roles and fund affiliations change; verify current details directly with Cowboy Ventures.
← All investor profiles