Silicon Valley
SERVICE FOCUS
Bar Admission
California
District of Columbia
Language
English
Mandarin Chinese
Academic
• J.D., Harvard University
• Ph.D., University of Washington
• B.S., Nanjing University
Dawei (David) Liu
Partner
Head of M&A
David combines top-tier legal expertise with deep technical insight to guide technology companies through complex transactions, cross-border deals, and corporate growth strategies.
David advises clients ranging from early-stage startups to global enterprises on venture financings, M&A, and international expansion. He has closed over $3 billion in venture financing deals across more than 100 transactions, with experience spanning the full corporate lifecycle from incorporation through pre-IPO stages.
His career includes leadership as Head of Legal at Humane, Inc., an AI unicorn acquired by HP, and practice at elite firms including Wilson Sonsini, Latham & Watkins, Cooley, and Gibson Dunn. Clients value his ability to act as both legal counsel and strategic business partner, delivering solutions that align legal protection with business objectives in high-stakes technology transactions.
With extensive cross-border experience and rare technical fluency, David helps clients navigate international regulations and structure agreements in cutting-edge industries such as artificial intelligence, advanced materials, clean energy, biotechnology, and software. His background enables him to anticipate risks and communicate effectively with technical teams and investors.
Representative Matters
• Represented an autonomous driving company in its $700 million Series B financing and acquisition of the autonomous driving department of a public rideshare technology company.
• Represented a world-leading Chinese pharmaceutical and biotechnology CDMO company in its co-lead investment in the $85 million Series E financing of an US computational physics company.
• Represented an automobile and clean energy company in its $2 billion public offering of common stock and convertible senior notes.
• Represented a world-leading AI-based consumer electronics company in its $20M+ SAFE financing, $50M Series A financing and acquisition of a healthcare SAAS company.