Recently,Attorney Haotian Yi officially commenced practice in both Shanghai and Silicon ValleyDrawing on practical experience from long-term service to emerging technology companies, as well as sustained depth in cross-border investment and financing, fund formation, data compliance and international trade, Attorney Yi will further connect the innovation ecosystems of China and the United States, providing technology companies and startup teams with legal support that combines commercial understanding and an international perspective.
Attorney Profile
Haotian Yi
Attorney admitted to practice in New York State, USA | Mankun Law Firm
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Juris Doctor (J.D.)
Working languages: Chinese, English, French
Attorney Haotian Yi focuses on cross-border legal services in the emerging technology sector, with practice areas covering company formation and governance, cross-border investment and financing, fund formation and data compliance. Since commencing practice, his clients have spannedWeb3, artificial intelligence, smart hardware, synthetic biology and digital contentand other sectors. He has cumulatively assisted clients in completing equity financings exceeding USD 100 million, with projects involving multiple jurisdictions including the United States, Canada, the Cayman Islands, the British Virgin Islands, Singapore, Estonia, and mainland China and Hong Kong.
Attorney Haotian Yi is among the earliest legal professionals "native" to the emerging technology industry. From the outset of his practice, he has been deeply involved in the Ethereum ecosystem and is familiar with token economics and on-chain business models; he has since expanded the scope of his services to artificial intelligence, smart hardware and synthetic biology companies, and is able toUnderstanding products and assessing risk in the founder's language。
Lawyer Yi Haotian is also a rare "technical" practitioner in the legal profession. He won a silver medal in the Beijing Informatics Olympiad and is active in several open-source communities. Over the long term, he has continued to study the engineering implementation of AI technology in legal scenarios, personally building AI workflows covering legal research, document drafting and multi-layer verification, using technology to expand the scope of research, compress document turnaround time, and translate efficiency gains into lower legal costs for clients.
●Core professional strengths
01 Depth in emerging technology industries
Lawyer Yi Haotian's client base covers multiple emerging tracks, including Web3, AI, smart hardware, synthetic biology and the creator economy. He did not "transition" into the technology industry from traditional practice; rather, he has grown alongside these industries since the outset of his practice. He has a deep understanding of the development trajectory of the Ethereum ecosystem and is also familiar with the business logic of AI protocols, overseas hardware and biotechnology companies, and can quickly find the balance point between business objectives and legal structures.
02 Full-process experience in cross-border investment and financing and funds
From Term Sheet negotiations and the drafting and negotiation of financing documents to closing and post-investment governance, Lawyer Yi Haotian has handled dozens of early-stage financing transactions end to end, with a cumulative amount exceeding USD 100 million, and counterparties including leading international industrial funds, crypto funds and well-known startup accelerators. He also provides USD fund formation services to fund managers and is familiar with offshore fund structures such as those in the Cayman Islands and the BVI, as well as fund governance and LP negotiations.
03 Data security and data compliance
Working within the dual-track data law systems of the United States and China, Lawyer Yi Haotian provides technology companies with services including privacy policies, compliance assessments, cross-border data transfer and data transaction arrangements. His compliance experience extends to the confirmation of rights in collected data and service architecture, as well as cross-border processing of new forms of sensitive data such as neural and health data, enabling "product-first" technology companies to build data compliance systems that match their business pace.
04 Import and export compliance and international trade
Focusing on the cross-border movement of goods and technology, Lawyer Yi Haotian provides import and export compliance and international trade legal services to companies expanding overseas, covering export control and economic sanctions compliance, tariffs and rules of origin, and international sale of goods and distribution contracts, helping manufacturing companies expanding overseas build compliance capabilities at both ends of the supply chain. He has also handled international arbitration cases and can provide dispute resolution support to clients when cross-border trade disputes arise.
●Representative practice areas
Practice Area 1 | Formation of Emerging Technology Companies and Cross-Border Investment and Financing
In response to technology companies' overseas expansion and financing needs, we provide entity formation and structuring in the United States, Canada, the Cayman Islands, the British Virgin Islands (BVI), Singapore and other jurisdictions, drafting and negotiation of financing documents, board and shareholder resolutions, establishment of employee stock option pools (ESOPs) and closing management, together with supporting legal services for building cross-border teams.
Practice Area 2 | Fund Formation and Investment Management
We assist fund managers in completing the structuring and establishment of USD funds, covering major offshore jurisdictions such as the Cayman Islands and the BVI, and provide legal support on fund governance, offering documents, LP negotiations, investment management agreements and investment transaction documents.
Practice Area 3 | Data Security and Data Compliance
We provide technology companies with services including privacy policies and user agreements, GDPR/CCPA and data law compliance assessments, design of cross-border data transfer pathways, and the establishment of data collection and data services contract frameworks, covering emerging scenarios such as AI training data and data collected by hardware.
Practice Area 4 | Import and Export Compliance and International Trade
We provide companies expanding overseas with export control and sanctions compliance assessments, tariff and rules-of-origin analysis, drafting and negotiation of international sale of goods, distribution and OEM contracts, establishment of trade compliance systems, and representation in international arbitration for international trade and cross-border commercial disputes, forming, together with our company formation, financing and data compliance services, full-chain coverage for overseas expansion.
● Representative Matters
The following projects have all been anonymized
Web3 and Crypto
•Represented an ecosystem blockchain gaming platform in completing its Series A financing, with a post-money valuation of USD 100 million.
•Represented a decentralized AI network in completing cumulative early-stage financing of more than USD 5 million and in obtaining ecosystem funding from a leading public blockchain foundation.
•Represented a crypto technology company in completing a seed round of financing at a post-money valuation of USD 50 million.
Artificial Intelligence
•Designed and implemented a financing structure (Singapore entity) for an AI protocol company.
•Completed a data compliance assessment for a decentralized AI training network.
Smart Hardware
•Represented a smart hardware company expanding overseas in completing a seed round of financing and established a data compliance system for it.
Biotechnology
•Assisted a synthetic biology company in completing the establishment of a North American entity and early-stage financing, with a well-known startup accelerator as the investor.
Fund Establishment
•Designed and advanced a dual-fund structure (BVI primary and secondary market funds) for an Ethereum ecosystem investment fund.
•Established a USD fund structure for an international fund.
Digital Content and the Creator Economy
•Served as outside general counsel to a North American TikTok creator-economy company, with services covering corporate governance, commercial contracts, intellectual property and human resources.
•Provided legal advisory services to a number of well-known North American TikTok creators.
Connecting Shanghai and Silicon Valley
Lawyer Yi Haotian has commenced practice in both Shanghai and Silicon Valley, which will further strengthen Mankun'sprofessional service capabilities in emerging technologies, cross-border investment and financing, fund formation, data compliance and international tradeand other fields, and better respond to the legal needs of technology companies developing between the Chinese and U.S. markets.
Going forward, Lawyer Yi will continue to draw on long-term practice in the technology industry, cross-border transactions and engineered legal services to provide startups, investment institutions and companies expanding overseas with professional, efficient legal support that closely aligns with the pace of their business.
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