Jeff Zheng
Jeff Zheng (Zheng Zhaohui) is the founder and chief executive of the US local news app NewsBreakNewsBreakNewsBreak is a local news and information app headquartered in Mountain View, California, founded in Silicon Valley in 2015 by former Yahoo executive Jeff Zheng and operated by Particle Media, Inc.; it aggregates local news with AI recommendations, raised $115 million in 2021, and in 2024 drew scrutiny from US lawmakers over AI-generated errors and its Chinese origins.Open the full entry; he worked on search and recommendation algorithms at Yahoo and headed its Beijing research lab, left Yahoo in 2011 to start the Chinese news aggregation app Yidian Zixun, and in 2015 founded Particle Media, NewsBreak’s operating company, in Silicon Valley.
Contents10 sections
Key facts
Before 2011Seven Years at Yahoo
Zheng spent seven years at Yahoo, working on web search relevance and personalized recommendations, founded Yahoo! Labs China, and holds dozens of US patents.[1]
2011Leaves Yahoo to Start Yidian Zixun
He had headed Yahoo Labs in Beijing, overseeing algorithm improvements in search, media, advertising and mobile; in 2011 he left Yahoo to start the Chinese news aggregation app Yidian Zixun.[2]
2015Founds Particle Media in Silicon Valley
In 2015, Zheng started a second venture in Silicon Valley, founding Particle Media, the company behind the NewsBreak app.[3]
January 2021Direction After Funding
When NewsBreak raised $115 million in January 2021, Zheng called the company “local-centric” and said he wanted to give as much money as possible back to creators.[4]
April 2024Company Defends His Background
In April 2024, responding to NewsGuard’s rating, NewsBreak said Zheng is not a media entrepreneur but a former Yahoo US executive and serial technology entrepreneur.[5]
2025Pushing AI Products
When NBot launched in beta in May 2025, Zheng called it “a huge step towards active engagement, rather than passive scrolling.”[6]
After NewsBreak’s wildfire map won an award that month, he said, “Using AI for good is why we build.”[7]
When the company made Fast Company’s workplace list in September, he described NewsBreak as “an innovation-first company.”[8]
September 16, 2026Appoints Chief Business Officer
As founder of NewsBreak, Nearby AI and NDot AI, Zheng announced Nicolas Zylberstein as chief business officer, saying his experience scaling partnerships and commercial strategy at large technology companies suited the role.[9]
As of October 2026: Current Roles and Background
Zheng is the founder of NewsBreak and founder and CEO of NDot AI.[10]
He holds a Ph.D. from SUNY Buffalo, a master’s from the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Automation and a bachelor’s from Tsinghua University; he lives in Palo Alto.[1]
Related Organizations, Websites, and Public Accounts
LinkedInLinkedInLinkedIn is a social networking platform for professionals. It was founded in 2002 by Reid Hoffman and others, launched in 2003, and listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 2011; after Microsoft acquired it for approximately $26.2 billion in 2016, it became a wholly owned Microsoft subsidiary. Its revenue comes from membership subscriptions, advertising, and recruitment solutions.Open the full entry: Public profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nbjeff/ (opens in a new window)[10]
NewsBreak: Official website: https://www.newsbreak.com/ (opens in a new window)[11]
Nearby AI: Official website: https://nearby.ai/ (opens in a new window)[12]
NDot AI: Official website: https://ndot.ai/ (opens in a new window)[10]
Sources
- NewsBreak - Who we are (opens in a new window)
- Meet News Break, the news app trending in America founded by a Chinese media veteran (opens in a new window)
- 在美受追捧的News Break 能否不受中国政府控制？ (opens in a new window)
- Local news app News Break raises $115M (opens in a new window)
- NewsBreak.com - NewsGuard (opens in a new window)
- NewsBreak Launches NBot AI Assistant (opens in a new window)
- People-Centered Approach Wins AI Innovation Award (opens in a new window)
- #32 Globally for Empowering Innovators (opens in a new window)
- Nicolas Zylberstein Joins NewsBreak (opens in a new window)
- NDot AI: the growth platform for modern media (opens in a new window)
- NewsBreak: Local News & Alerts (opens in a new window)
- Nearby AI — Say what's wrong. We'll take it from there. (opens in a new window)