Gobi was founded in 2002 by Thomas Tsao, Lawrence Tse and Wai Kit Lau who were previously employees at WI Harper, a San Francisco VC firm.

The three who had different professions in banking, engineering and law before by training were all Chinese speakers which gave the team an advantage in negotiations and conference calls.

Other investors included IBM, Nippon Telegraph and Telephone, Docomo, McGraw Hill and The Walt Disney Company.

Chinese investments of Gobi such as Tuniu and Camera 360 already attracted a user base in Southeast Asia which drew huge potential of the market to the firm.

This was due to its young population, increasing internet and mobile banking adoption, its government's effort to make a conducive environment for investors and finally China–Pakistan relations.

[1][3][9] Notable investments made by Gobi include Animoca Brands, GOGOX, Prenetics, WeLab, Xingyun and Airwallex.