Chris Zhu is a technology entrepreneur active in the artificial intelligence (AI) and Web3 sectors. He is the founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Donut Labs, the company developing an agentic crypto browser, and is also a co-founder of the gaming infrastructure project Sonic. His career includes previous roles at rct AI and ByteDance, and he has co-founded other ventures such as Mirror World. ^{[1] [2]}

Education

Zhu is an alumnus of New York University, where he attended the Stern School of Business. He completed his studies at the institution and earned a bachelor’s degree. His academic background provided a foundation for his subsequent career in technology and finance, particularly through his connection with NYU Stern professor Xi Chen, who later became an advisor to his company, Donut Labs. ^{[3] [4]}

Career

Chris Zhu is a technology entrepreneur and product strategist with expertise in artificial intelligence and Web3. He began his career at ByteDance, where he worked in strategy and product management from 2019 to 2022, gaining experience at a major global technology company. From 2021 to 2023, he served as Vice President of Products at rct AI, focusing on AI-driven solutions. Zhu co-founded several Web3 ventures, including Mirror World, Sonic, and SonicSVM, developing decentralized gaming infrastructure and blockchain products. In 2022, he co-founded Sonic and later, in 2025, established Donut Labs, where he serves as CEO. At Donut Labs, he leads the development of the Donut browser, an AI-powered crypto browser designed to automate blockchain transactions, integrate decentralized finance tools, and enhance user interaction with decentralized applications (dApps). ^{[8] [6] [5]}

Agentic Crypto Browser at Donut Labs

In May 2025, Donut Labs secured $7 million in a pre-seed funding round led by Hongshan (formerly Sequoia China), BITKRAFT Ventures, and HackVC, with additional participation from Sky9 Ventures, Matrix Partners, Makers Fund, Altos Ventures, Orthogonal Ventures, Vessel Ventures, and SonicSVM. The funding is intended to support the development of the browser, talent acquisition, and community growth, with the goal of establishing Donut as a primary browsing layer for crypto-native users and AI agents. ^{[5] [2]}

Founder and CEO Chris Zhu emphasized the browser's innovative approach, stating, "The traditional browser has not changed for 30+ years, and we get to re-architect everything." ^[4]