Best Startup
At Best Startup US we track over 1,000,000 US startups and over 3 million people who hold key positions in these companies. We use this directory of startups to highlight top employees, founders and board members we think deserve more appreciation than they are currently getting.
This list showcases the top California based CEO’ operating in the Manufacturing space. If you think a CEO’ is missing from this list, feel free to contact our editor on editor@beststartup.us.
The individuals on this list have been included because of exceptional performance in one of the following categories:
- Innovation – Operating as a key part in an extremely innovative business or startup.
- Growth – Operating as a key figure in the growth and upscale of a market leading business or startup.
- Management – Showing exceptional management skills.
- Societal impact – Putting their business on the map for their positive societal or environmental impact.
Our Data – We source our data from OSINT (open source intelligence) and public directories such as Crunchbase, SemRush and many more. The data from these sources should be treated with a degree of caution and verified yourself.
Joseph Zwillinger
Co-Founder and CEO of Allbirds
Joseph Zwillinger is a CEO and Co-Founder of Allbirds. He has long been passionate about making things from renewable resources, which led him to start Allbirds and begin tackling sustainability issues in the footwear industry. Prior to co-founding Allbirds, he spent six years at biotech firm Terravia (formerly Solazyme, Inc.) leading its renewable chemical business, developing and selling high performance algae-based chemicals into various industries such as CPG, personal care, and industrials. Previously, Joey worked in advisory and investment roles at Industry Ventures, Deloitte Consulting and Goldman Sachs. He sits on the Board of education nonprofit Stiles Hall, as well as the Advisory Board of Wharton’s Baker Retail Center. He earned an MBA from Wharton with honors, and a BS in industrial engineering from UC Berkeley
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About Allbirds: Allbirds is an apparel and fashion company that specializes in manufacturing eco-friendly wool shoes.
Lawrence Firestone
CEO of FirePower Technology
Larry Firestone is a founder and was named the CEO of FirePower Technology, Inc. in February 2014. Mr. Firestone is an industry veteran with more than 30 years of experience in manufacturing and industrial companies and a strong track record of turning companies around and delivering profitable growth and gaining market share while achieving recognition for high quality and outstanding customer satisfaction. Prior to joining FirePower, he was the President and CEO of Qualstar, a publicly held power supply and data storage company, chief financial officer of X-IO Storage a privately held data storage company and prior to X-IO Storage he was Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at Advanced Energy a publicly held power conversion company. Prior to Advanced Energy he held both CFO and COO positions at various other private and public companies. Mr. Firestone holds a bachelor of science degree in business administration with a concentration in Accounting from Slippery Rock State College.
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About Cenntro, FirePower Technology: FirePower Technology manufactures and markets power supplies and cooling devices for computers.
Cesar Johnston
CEO of Energous Corporation
Mr. Cesar Johnston joined Energous in July 2014 and serves as the Company’s Chief Executive Officer. Cesar is a seasoned technologist, entrepreneur, and investor. Prior to Energous, Cesar has had a broad experience in large enterprises and startups. He has previously served as Vice President of Engineering for Wireless Connectivity at Marvell Semiconductor. During his time with Marvell, Cesar led Marvell’s worldwide R&D and development of all Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, FM, and NFC products. Prior to Marvell, Cesar drove technology innovation at Broadcom responsible for 802.11g and 802.11n products. Cesar has over 20 years of experience working across hardware, software, and services and is recognized as a pioneer in the technology development of multiple first-of generations of SISO and MIMO wireless products. He serves on the CTO Council for the Global Semiconductor Alliance, is an IEEE Senior Member, and is an advisory board member to KINS Technology Group. He also has written over 40 conference and journal papers and holds 25 patents.
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About Energous Corporation: Energous Corporation is the creator of WattUp, charging technology for electronic devices.
Steve Rizzone
Chairman, President & CEO of Energous Corporation
Stephen R. Rizzone serves as President and Chief Executive Officer of Energous Corporation.
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About Energous Corporation: Energous Corporation is the creator of WattUp, charging technology for electronic devices.
Nathan Resnick
CEO and Founder of Sourcify
Nathan Resnick is the CEO of Sourcify, a platform that makes manufacturing easy. In the past, Nathan has brought dozens of products to market, ran three ecommerce companies (sold one), and been a part of projects on Kickstarter raising over seven figures. He writes for media outlets like Entrepreneur, The Next Web, Business.com, and more. Nathan also used to live in China and speaks Mandarin.
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About Bubble Hotels, Business 2 Community, Entrepreneur Media, HuffPost, Social Media Today, Sourcify: Sourcify is a manufacturing platform that directly connects customers with factories overseas.
Tim Ellis
Co-founder & CEO of Relativity Space
Tim is the Co-founder and CEO of Relativity Space, the first autonomous rocket factory and launch services leader for satellite constellations. Disrupting 60 years of global aerospace manufacturing, Relativity is developing the first and only aerospace platform to integrate machine learning, software, and robotics with metal 3D printing technology to build and launch rockets and other aerospace products in days instead of years, with the long-term goal of building the future of humanity in space. Since cofounding Relativity, Tim has helped change the future of space exploration by expanding the possibilities of additive metal manufacturing. Under his leadership, Relativity developed the largest robotic metal 3D printer in the world and tested its entirely 3D printed Aeon rocket engine over 190 times, on track to launching Relativity’s Terran 1, the world’s first 3D printed launch vehicle. Terran 1 has won publicly announced launch contracts to support Iridium, Telesat, Spaceflight Industries, Momentus, Mu Space. Tim played a leading role in closing hundreds of millions of dollars in partnership with the U.S. Government, including securing the first-ever US Air Force launch site award to a venture backed company at Cape Canaveral, and exclusive 20-year agreements for multiple test sites and a 220,000-square-foot factory at NASA Stennis Space Center. Prior to Relativity, Tim was responsible for bringing metal 3D printing in-house at Blue Origin and served as a Propulsion Development Engineer on Crew Capsule RCS thrusters, BE-4, and New Glenn. He holds an MS and a BS in Aerospace Engineering from USC, where he played a leadership role in launching the first student-designed and built rocket into space. Tim has testified to the U.S. Senate on commercial space policy and is the youngest member on the National Space Council Users Advisory Group by nearly two decades, directly advising the United States White House on all space policy. He also serves on the World Economic Forum as a Technology Pioneer, and has been honored as an MIT 35 Innovators Under 35 and “30 Under 30” from Business Insider, Forbes, and Inc. Magazine. Relativity is backed by Playground Global, Social Capital, Y Combinator, Mark Cuban, USC, and Stanford.
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About Relativity Space: Relativity Space is an aerospace company that designs, develops, and builds 3D printed rockets.
Chris Power
Founder & CEO of Hadrian
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About Hadrian: Hadrian manufactures precision components for cutting-edge technology companies.
Lars Brubaker
Co-Founder & CEO of MatterHackers
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About MatterHackers: 3D Printing Software, Hardware, & Supplies
Joe Hebenstreit
CEO of Shaper
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About Shaper: Shaper is a human-involved robotics company focused on making precision cutting easy and accessible.
Michael Heltzen
Chief Executive Officer of Cardea Bio
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About Cardea Bio, Nanomed: Cardea is developing a new generation of (bio)technology infrastructure based on proprietary biology-gated transistors.
Karan Talati
Co-Founder & CEO of First Resonance
Karan Talati is a co-founder and CEO at First Resonance.
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About First Resonance: First Resonance builds ION, the Factory Operating System that manufacturers trust for speed, collaboration, and visibility.
Jack Rimokh
Chairman and CEO of Signal Brands
As a highly respected industry leader, Jack Rimokh started Signal Brands and built one of the world’s largest handbag companies.
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About Signal Brands: Signal Brands is a manufacturer, distributor of licensed fashion handbags, small leather goods and luggage.
Erik Palitsch
Co-Founder & CEO of Freeform
Erik Palitsch is a Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer at Freeform Future.
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About Freeform: Stealth-mode additive manufacturing company.
Martin Anstice
President and CEO of Lam Research
Martin Anstice is the FORMER president and chief executive officer of Lam Research who was let go for sexual harrassment claims. Mr. Anstice joined the company in April 2001, was promoted to chief financial officer in 2004, appointed executive vice president and chief operating officer in September 2008, and promoted to president in December 2010. In January 2012, Mr. Anstice was appointed chief executive officer and in February 2012, appointed to the Lam Research Corporation board of directors. He began his career at Raychem Corporation where, during his 13-year tenure, he held numerous finance roles of increasing responsibility in Europe and North America. After Tyco International, Ltd. acquired Raychem in 1999, Mr. Anstice assumed responsibility for supporting mergers and acquisitions at Tyco Electronics Corporation. Mr. Anstice serves as a director of Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International (SEMI) and of the Silicon Valley Leadership Group (SVLG). Mr. Anstice is an associate member of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants in the United Kingdom.
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About Lam Research: Lam Research supplies wafer fabrication equipment and services to the worldwide semiconductor industry.
Ryan Dotters
Chief Executive Officer of Full Swing Golf
Ryan Dotters has spent the majority of his career in the golf industry and joined Full Swing Golf in September 2013 as a Business Development Consultant to oversee new corporate partnerships and establish a new ownership group. In January 2015, Ryan took over as CEO while simultaneously signing a partnership deal with Tiger Woods. Ryan led the acquisition of Virtual Green in March of 2015 and has successfully led significant growth of Full Swing Golf. Previous to Full Swing, Ryan held key positions at Graphite Design(SVP Sales and Marketing), Taylor Made / Adidas Golf (Sales), Adams Golf (Regional Sales Manager – North East), and Callaway Golf (Corporate Sales). Ryan has been able to balance his passion for golf with his love for business.
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About Full Swing Golf: Full Swing Golf is the Worldwide Leader in Golf Simulation.
James Berdigans
CEO & Founder of Printify
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About Printify: Printify is a marketplace connecting online merchants to major print on demand and dropshipping manufacturers worldwide.
Michael Preysman
Founder and CEO of Everlane
Michael Preysman is the founder and CEO of Everlane. Prior to starting Everlane, he was an investor at Elevation Partners for both their New York and Menlo Park offices investing in media and entertainment companies. Michael enjoys sitting at the intersection of design and technology. He graduated from Carnegie Mellon with degrees in Computer Engineering and Economics.
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About Everlane: Everlane designs, manufactures, and sells clothing items for men and women via online e-commerce website.
Steven Zhou
Co-Founder and CEO of Moov
Steven Zhou is the Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder at Moov.
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About Moov: Moov is a software platform for buying and selling preowned manufacturing equipment.
Stuart Landesberg
Co-Founder & CEO of Grove Collaborative
Stuart Landesberg is the Co-Founder & CEO of Grove Collaborative, the leading digital-first brand & ecommerce platform for natural home and personal care. Stu has long been passionate about sustainability. He founded Grove, which has been a Certified B Corp since its founding, after learning that offline distribution meant that just a small percentage of families were choosing healthy, sustainable home care products. Grove now serves hundreds of thousands of households in the U.S. every month and has raised over $100 million in total capital. Stu was previously an investor at TPG Growth, where he was involved in over $400 million in consumer and technology investments. Stu and his wife Caitlin live in San Francisco with their daughter and dog, and spend as much time outside as possible.
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About Grove Collaborative: Grove creates and curates high-performing, planet-first home and personal care products and is the leader in zero-plastic CPG.
Jordan Kretchmer
Co-Founder and CEO of Rapid Robotics
Jordan Kretchmer is the Founder and CEO of Livefyre. Livefyre brings the social web right to any publisher or brand site to drive real-time conversations and community engagement. The company’s suite of real-time products include LiveComments, LiveBlogs, and social content curation, and Livefyre’s customers include FOX News, CBS, Dow Jones, AOL, TIME Magazine, and thousands of others. Kretchmer founded the San Francisco based startup in December 2009, and has overseen its growth to the 7th largest site network on the web, delivering 1 billion live content streams every month. Before launching Livefyre, Kretchmer was the Vice President of Brand at Current TV where he led brand redevelopment for the media company. Previously, he was the Digital Creative Director at Butler Shine Stern and Partners, and Vice President/Associate Creative Director at Mullen Advertising. Kretchmer lives in San Francisco.
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About Livefyre, Rapid Robotics: Rapid Robotics provides out-of-the-box automation for manufacturers.
Christopher Sinclair
CEO of Mattel
Christopher A. Sinclair has been Chief Executive Officer since April 2015 and has served as Chairman of the Board of Mattel since January 2015. He also served as Interim Chief Executive Officer from January 2015 to April 2015. Prior to assuming the role of Chairman of the Board and Interim Chief Executive Officer, Sinclair served as the Independent Lead Director and Chairman of the Audit Committee and Chairman of the Executive Committee since 2011. From 2002 to 2008, he served as Executive Chairman of Scandent Holdings, an information technology investment company. From 2005 to 2009, he also served as Executive Chairman of Cambridge Solutions Corporation Ltd., a leader in providing information technology and business process outsourcing services. He served as a Managing Director of Manticore Partners, LLC, a venture capital advisory firm, from 2000 to 2005, as an Operating Partner of Pegasus Capital Advisors, LP, a private equity firm, from 2000 to 2002, and as Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Caribiner International, Inc. from 1999 to 2000. Prior to that, he served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Quality Food, Inc., Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Pepsi-Cola Company and President and Chief Executive Officer of PepsiCo Foods & Beverages International and Pepsi-Cola International for more than five years.
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About Mattel: Mattel is the worldwide leader in the design, manufacture, and marketing of toys and family products.
Mike Slessor
Chief Executive Officer of FormFactor
Michael D. Slessor has served as the Chief Executive Officer of FormFactor, Inc. since December 2014, and as a Director since October 2013. Mike served as President from October 2013 to December 27, 2014, and as Senior Vice President and General Manager, MicroProbe Product Group from October 2012 to October 2013. Before joining FormFactor, he was President and Chief Executive Officer of MicroProbe from July 2008 through the October 2012 closing of FormFactor’s acquisition of MicroProbe. Prior to joining MicroProbe, he held various management, product-marketing, and applications-engineering positions in the semiconductor industry, primarily with KLA-Tencor. Mike received his Ph.D. in Aeronautics and Physics from the California Institute of Technology and his B.A.Sc. in Engineering Physics from the University of British Columbia.
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About FormFactor: FormFactor is a global leader in advanced wafer probe card technology and design, FormFactor is a mission critical supplier to top
Raunak Bhinge
CEO, Managing Director & Founder of Infinite Uptime
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About Infinite Uptime: Infinite Uptime is an industrial IoT solution provider for improved quality and productivity in the engineering and processing industries.
Cristiano Amon
President & CEO of Qualcomm
Cristiano Amon serves as executive vice president, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., and co-president of Qualcomm Mobile and Computing (QMC), the world’s largest provider of wireless chipsets and software solutions. In this role, and in partnership with Murthy Renduchintala, he is responsible for the oversight of all activities related to Qualcomm’s semiconductor business within the mobile and computing segment. Amon also serves as a member of Qualcomm’s executive committee. Prior to his co-president role, Amon served as Senior Vice President of Product Management of QMC, managing the company’s wireless chipset portfolio. While at Qualcomm, he was also the chief technical officer of Vésper, a wireless operator in Brazil.
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About Qualcomm, VeloCom: Qualcomm designs, manufactures, and markets digital wireless telecommunications products and services.
Mark Reynoso
CEO of EcoSense Lighting
Mark Reynoso is the CEO at Ecosense Lighting.
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About EcoSense Lighting: EcoSense Lighting designs and develops lighting solutions for commercial and residential applications.
Stephen Luczo
CEO of Seagate Technology
Stephen Luczo serves as the Chairman of the Board, CEO and President. Luzco joined us in October 1993 as Senior Vice President of Corporate Development. In September 1997, Luczo was promoted to the position of President and Chief Operating Officer of our predecessor, Seagate Technology, Inc. and, in July 1998, he was promoted to Chief Executive Officer. Luczo resigned as our Chief Executive Officer, effective 3 July 2004, but retained his position as Chairman of the Board. In January 2009, Luczo was appointed President and CEO. Prior to joining us, Luczo was Senior Managing Director of the Global Technology Group of Bear, Stearns & Co. Inc., an investment banking firm, from February 1992 to October 1993.
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About Bridge Budapest, Seagate Technology: Seagate offers consumers and businesses with data storage solutions to create, share, and preserve digital content.
Christopher Pickett
CEO & Board Member of DigiLens
Christopher Pickett is the President & CEO & Board Director of Pelican Imaging. Pickett is a seasoned Senior Executive and Business Strategist in both private and public company environments. During his more than 20 years of experience, Chris has helped to drive adoption and create financial success for companies with technologies spanning semiconductor packaging, camera modules, LCD displays, general lighting, cryptography, and memory systems. Most recently, Chris was the senior vice president of corporate licensing for Rambus – joining Rambus as part of the acquisition of Global Lighting Technologies where he was the President of the licensing division. At Rambus, he was responsible for global technology and patent licensing and helped grow Rambus’ aggregate revenue more than 50% during his two and a half year tenure. At Global Lighting Technologies, Chris developed the licensing, marketing and revenue plan resulting in acquisition by Rambus and market adoption of its technology by General Electric, Cooper Industries and others, as well as a broad array of contract manufacturers that act as a vibrant partner ecosystem. Before Global Lighting Technologies, Chris was the Executive Vice President of licensing at Tessera Technologies, bringing the company from start up phase to a successful mid-cap public company. During his 13 year tenure, Tessera achieved compound revenue and operating profit growth exceeding 50% annually which led to Tessera being cited in 2006 by Business Week as the Second Hottest Growth Company in America and by Electronic Business as the 4th Best Small Electronics Company in the US, also in 2006. He is the inventor on nine issued US patents. Chris has a JD from the University of San Francisco School of Law. BSEE from the California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo.
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About DigiLens: DigiLens is an innovator in holographic waveguide display technology for extended reality (XR).
Sanjay Mehrotra
President and CEO of Micron Technology
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About Micron Technology: Micron Technology is a semiconductor company that produces DRAM, SDRAM, flash memory, SSD and CMOS image sensing chips.
Anna-Katrina Shedletsky
Founder and CEO of Instrumental
I’m the CEO of Instrumental, a company I founded to solve manufacturing’s biggest problem: the 20 to 35 cents of every dollar spent in manufacturing that is wasted. I have two degrees in mechanical engineering from Stanford University and was an Apple Product Design Engineer for six years. I designed mechanical components for three iPods and led system product design for the Apple Watch Series 1. I spent over 300 days in China finding and fixing issues on one of the most admired manufacturing supply chains in the world. I regularly speak about the future of manufacturing and automation and write technical articles at www.instrumental.com/blog. As an advocate for increased diversity in technology, I founded the Women in STEM Mentorship Program WISMP.org in 2013, which has matched hundreds of women university students studying in STEM fields with practicing industry mentors to support their transitions into fulfilling STEM careers.
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About Instrumental: Ship hardware products on time with high-resolution manufacturing data.
Ron Garret
Founder and CEO of Spark Innovations
Ron Garret, Ph.D. began his career as a researcher at the NASA Jet Propulsion Lab, where he worked on autonomous spacecraft and mobile robots for planetary exploration. His work laid the foundation for the subsequent Mars rover missions, and he became the most referenced computer science researcher in all of NASA according to CiteSeer. Ron’s entrepreneurial streak was evident as early as junior high school, when he wrote his first business plan for a retail store that would sell nothing but computer software (a radical idea in 1979) and built one of the world’s first computer dating services on an Apple ][+. Ron’s first real startup was a company that built high-speed local area networks in the early nineties. In 2000 he left JPL to work for what was at the time an obscure Silicon Valley startup called Google, where he was the lead engineer on the first release of AdWords, and the author of the Google Translation Console, the interface by which volunteers translate Google’s site content into over 200 different languages including Klingon. After the Google IPO Ron started a new career as a serial entrepreneur and independent angel investor. He co-founded three startups, most notably an on-line marketplace for charter jets called Smart Charter, which was acquired pre-launch by Richard Branson and launched as Virgin Charter. During this time he also produced and directed a full-length documentary film about homelessness. In 2008, together with Brian Singerman (now a partner at Founders Fund) Ron co-founded a small investment fund called XGYC (not to be confused with XG Ventures) which to date has an annualized IRR over 60%.
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About Spark Innovations: Spark innovations is a product design & development industrial design company that offers benefits of intellectual patents and exceptional.
Mark Herrema
Co-Founder & CEO of Newlight Technologies
As CEO and co-founder of Newlight, Mr. Herrema has over a decade of industrial experience in chemical, biological, and process engineering, intellectual property development, polymer functionalization, private equity finance, and strategic business development. Mr. Herrema has invented a range of proprietary carbon capture and conversion systems and materials, receiving numerous associated US and international patents, steering Newlight through multiple private placement offerings, executing a range of strategic partnerships, and leading the engineering, construction, optimization, and expansion of Newlight’s carbon capture platform. Mr. Herrema graduated magna cum laude High Honors from Princeton University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Politics and Political Theory, with additional work in Physics, Mathematics, and Chemistry.
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About Newlight Technologies: Newlight Technologies is a biotechnology company producing advanced sustainable materials.
Matt Murphy
President & Chief Executive Officer of Marvell
Matt Murphy is President and Chief Executive Officer of Marvell Technology. He has led the company since joining in July 2016 and also serves as a member of company’s Board of Directors. In his role as CEO, Matt is responsible for leading new technology development, directing ongoing operations and driving Marvell’s growth strategy. Prior to joining Marvell, Matt worked for Maxim Integrated, where he advanced through a series of business leadership roles over two decades. Most recently, he served as Executive Vice President of Business Units and Sales & Marketing, overseeing all product development and go-to-market activities. In prior roles, Matt led the company’s communications, data center, and automotive business groups, all of which experienced significant growth under his leadership. Matt earned a B.A. from Franklin & Marshall College, and is also a graduate of the Stanford Executive Program.
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About Marvell: Marvell is a technology company that manufactures and offers integrated circuit solutions using communications mixed-signal processing.
Gene Berdichevsky
CEO & Co-Founder of Sila Nanotechnologies
Gene Berdichevsky is the Co-Founder & CEO of Sila Nanotechnologies. Prior to co-founding Sila, Gene was the seventh employee at Tesla Motors where he served as Principal Engineer on the Roadster battery, leading the development of the world’s first, safe, mass-produced, automotive lithium-ion battery system. Gene holds two degrees from Stanford University; an MS in Engineering with a focus on energy and materials, and a BS in Mechanical Engineering. He has co-authored 42 patents and 4 academic publications. Gene has been named to the Forbes 30 under 30 list, the MIT Technology Review 35 Under 35, and was a recipient of the Paul and Daisy Soros Fellowship for New Americans.
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About Sila Nanotechnologies: Sila Nanotechnologies is a provider and manufacturer of higher energy density lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles.
Andrew Ng
Founder & CEO of Landing AI
Andrew Ng co-founded Coursera in 2012, served as the company’s Co-CEO until 2014, and is currently the Co-Chair of the Coursera Board. He is the former Chief Scientist at Baidu, a Chinese language search engine, where he was responsible for driving the company’s global AI strategy and infrastructure. Dr. Ng is also an adjunct professor in the computer science department at Stanford University. In 2011, he led the development of Stanford’s Massive Open Online Course platform and taught an online machine learning class that was offered to over 100,000 students – the initiative that led to the co-founding of Coursera. Previously, Dr. Ng was the founding lead of the Google Brain deep learning project. Dr. Ng has authored or co-authored over 100 research papers in machine learning, robotics, and related fields. In 2013 he was named to the Time 100 list of the most influential persons in the world. He holds degrees from Carnegie Mellon University, MIT, and the University of California, Berkeley.
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About AI Fund, Coursera, Deeplearning.ai, Landing AI, Stanford University, Zunavision: Landing AI applies AI and deep learning to help manufacturers solve challenging visual inspection problems and generate business value.
Will Bruey
CEO & Co-Founder of Varda
Will Bruey is the Co-Founder and CEO of Varda.
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About Varda: Varda is a space manufacturing startup that focuses on creating products in space for terrestrial applications.
Yu Wang
Co-founder and CEO of Farasis Energy
With over 15 years of leadership positions in the lithium-ion battery industry, Dr. Wang offers extensive experience in large scale production, commercialization, marketing and sales of successful Li-ion products. He held development and management responsibilities at NEC Moli Energy and PolyStor Corporation, where he was Director of R & D and chief cell designer.
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About Farasis Energy: Farasis Energy is a renewable energy company that develops and manufactures lithium ion battery energy storage systems.
Gabe Sibley
Founder & CEO of Verdant Robotics
Gabe Sibley is the Founder & CEO at Verdant Robotics, Inc.
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About University of Colorado Boulder, Verdant Robotics, Zippy.ai: Verdant Robotics manufactures robotics systems; the company’s current platform delivers transformative agricultural services.
Joanne Calabrese
CEO of Soko
Joanne Calabrese is a seasoned retailer, wholesaler, and merchant who is wildly passionate about driving businesses alongside amazing people. She’s led teams at several Fortune 500 companies, including VP roles at Gap Inc. and DFS, and also served as President of The Body Shop, Americas Region, and Head of the Americas for Fossil Group. Joanne joined SOKO in 2018 to operationalize and expand the business. SOKO is a vertically integrated manufacturing platform and ethical lifestyle brand working at the intersection of technology, fashion and social impact to bring beautiful artisan handcrafted jewelry to a global market. SOKO believes the future of ethical business is about leveraging mobile technology and supply chain innovation to create a next-generation business model that is both kinder and more competitive. SOKO is generating measurable social benefits in the lives of artisans and the communities in which they live.
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About Soko: SOKO is a manufacturing platform built using mobile technology to connect independent, distributed artisans to the global marketplace.
John Kibarian
CEO, Director & Co-Founder of PDF Solutions
John Kibarian is the CEO, president, and co-founder of PDF Solutions. Before founding the company in 1991, Dr. Kibarian was a researcher at Carnegie Mellon University’s SEMATECH Center for Rapid Yield Learning. At CMU, John developed algorithms for diagnosing process variations based on electrical test data and for achieving yield maximization based on circuit optimization and statistical simulation of processes and devices. Kibarian holds B.S. and M.S. degrees in Electrical Engineering and a Ph.D. in Computer Engineering, all from Carnegie Mellon University.
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About PDF Solutions: PDF Solutions is a provider of yield improvement technologies and services for the IC manufacturing process life cycle.
Ben Chiarelli
Founder and CEO of Cellibre
Ben Chiarelli is the founder and CEO of Cellibre. He is also the founder and managing partner at Divitempus Ventures. Ben earned his MBA from Carnegie Mellon University’s Tepper School of Business and his B.S. in mechanical engineering from Case Western Reserve University.
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About Cellibre: Cellibre turns cells into specialized, sustainable factories for the manufacture of globally significant products at scale.
Fabian Gerlinghaus
Co-Founder & CEO of Cellares
Fabian Gerlinghaus is the CEO and Co-Founder of Cellares.
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About Cellares: Cellares is a life sciences technology company that develops the Cell Shuttle to automate cell therapy manufacturing.
Robert Hanson
Chief Executive Officer of Monolith Materials
Rob Hanson is the co-founder and CEO of Monolith, where he leads the development of next-generation technology for producing low cost, low emission hydrogen and carbon black, an important raw material used in the manufacture of rubber and plastic. Prior to Monolith, Rob served as the global director of product management for AREVA Solar, the solar division of the world’s largest nuclear company. He has a master’s degree in mechanical engineering from Stanford, and has been a guest lecturer at Stanford, UNL, Foothill College and the University of Saskatchewan on topics ranging from thermodynamics to entrepreneurship. Rob also co-founded uforia studios, a 65-employee health and fitness company with locations in San Francisco and Palo Alto.
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About Monolith Materials: Monolith Materials is a carbon black manufacturing company that uses a proprietary process to convert natural gas to carbon black.
Wenbin Jiang
Co-Founder and CEO of Cytek Biosciences
Wenbin Jiang is a co-founder of Cytek Biosciences, Inc. and a seasoned entrepreneur and inventor. E2O communications was the first company he cofounded in late 1990s, which was acquired by JDS Uniphase in 2004. He is an inventor of more than 90 US patents and an author of 4 book chapters and more than 50 peer reviewed technical papers.
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About Cytek Biosciences: Cytek Biosciences is a manufacturer and supplier of flow cytometry products and services.
Matthew Scullin
CEO of MycoWorks
Matthew L. Scullin is the CEO of MycoWorks.
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About MycoWorks: MycoWorks is a biotech company that delivers commercially viable non-plastic and non-animal materials to the market.
Anthony Previte
CEO & President of Terran Orbital
Anthony “Tony” Previte is the founder ,CEO & President of Terran Orbital. Terran Orbital is a leading worldwide provider of nanosatellite and microsatellite vehicles, services, and solutions. Tony has over 30 years of executive leadership in high-technology and space-based services ranging from startups to Fortune 500. Terran Orbital is Tony’s third successful from the ground up venture. In addition to his successful business ventures, Tony is an active space-based radio astronomy, and astrophysics researcher focused on very low-frequency radio observation.
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About Terran Orbital: Terran Orbital are the leading innovators and providers of picosatellites, cubesats, and nanosatellites.
Dan Widmaier
CEO of Bolt Threads
Dan is fascinated by finding the right conditions to grow things. Dan has carefully tended Bolt’s growth since 2009, using his passion and expertise to lead the company through technology development, expansion, and financing. He earned his Ph.D. in Chemistry and Chemical Biology from UC San Francisco, where his graduate research involved designing genetic circuits to control microbial organelles.
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About Bolt Threads: Bolt is a materials company that invents and scales materials that put the planet on a path towards a better future.
Noah Ready-Campbell
Founder, CEO & Engineer of Built Robotics
Noah is the founder and CEO of Built Robotics, a company building automated guidance systems for heavy equipment. He founded the company in 2016, and has raised over $48 million from leading Silicon Valley investors including Founders Fund, NEA and Next47. Previously, Noah founded an ecommerce startup called Twice, which raised $23 million from Andreessen Horowitz before eBay acquired it in 2015. Noah began his career at Google, and he studied business and engineering at the University of Pennsylvania, but his first job was working as a carpenter’s helper for his dad, helping to renovate old houses in rural New England.
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About Built Robotics: Built Robotics transforms heavy equipment into autonomous robots for the $1 trillion earthmoving industry.
Ashley Crowder
CEO & Co-Founder of VNTANA
Ashley Crowder is the co-founder and CEO of VNTANA, an industry leading augmented reality platform for creating and distributing premium mixed reality experiences. Prior to co-founding VNTANA she graduated from USC with a bachelors and masters in engineering and gained valuable manufacturing experience at Gulfstream, Northrop Grumman and BP. She leverages her engineering background to guide VNTANA’s overall direction and technology development. Ashley was featured as one of USC’s leading engineering CEOs of 2016. Ashley is a part of the Microsoft Early Developer Program along with the Microsoft Bizspark Plus program. Ashley has been a speaker at SXSW, Digital Summit, Internet Summit, Augmented World Expo, TEDx Venice, the World Economic Forum’s Global Growth Companies & Technology Pioneers, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship, The Montgomery Summit, Siemer Summit, Digital LA, and others.
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About VNTANA: Democratizing 3D for the world through the only automated 3D Collaboration Platform.
Billoo Rataul
President & CEO of Paramit Corporation
Billoo Rataul is the President & CEO at Paramit Corporation.
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About Paramit Corporation: Paramit designs and manufactures medical devices and life science instruments.
Benjamin Schrauwen
CEO of Oqton
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About Oqton: Oqton is a software company that develops AI-driven software for the manufacturing industry.
Dave Evans
Co-Founder, CEO of Fictiv
Dave Evans co-founded Fictiv and serves as its CEO in pursuit of his mission to democratize manufacturing. Fictiv’s virtual manufacturing platform pairs intelligent workflow and collaboration software with a global network of highly vetted manufacturers. Prior to Fictiv, Dave was the first hire at Ford’s Silicon Valley Lab which is part of Ford’s Global Research and Advanced Engineering Division. While there, Dave was Lead Hardware Engineer on OpenXC, an open source software and hardware platform to extend customer’s vehicles with custom applications and pluggable modules. In this role, he manufactured hardware for 500+ unit production runs including injection molding, PCB fabrication, box design and assembly. He was also responsible for designing, prototyping, and sourcing hardware builds at the Lab. Dave also proudly led the Stanford University Affiliates project for Ford in the mechanical engineering senior design course.
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About Fictiv: Fictiv is a Digital Manufacturing Ecosystem that delivers precision parts on-demand through its digital platform and global partner network.
Jim Keravala
CEO & Cofounder of OffWorld
Jim is co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of OffWorld, building an industrial robotic workforce to undertake mining, manufacturing and construction on planetary surfaces and in space. The robotic workforce forms a solar system platform that will enable the construction of space based solar power stations, propellant depots and entire settlements. He brings 30 years of experience and visionary leadership in innovation in multidisciplinary areas such as aerospace engineering, space systems, robotics and machine intelligence, manufacturing and construction, computer science, synthetic biology and molecularly precise control systems. Jim is a prolific technologist and an accomplished entrepreneur able to constantly identify new acceleration ramps in the technological landscape. Jim started his career in the space launch industry managing launch programs overseeing over a dozen successful orbital launches on Russian, European and US launch vehicles. Modular satellite design, integration engineering and program management were part of this process.
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About OffWorld: OffWorld is developing a learning robotic workforce for heavy industrial jobs on Earth, Moon, asteroids & Mars.
David Michery
CEO & Founder of Mullen Technologies
David Michery is CEO & Founder at Mullen Technologies. David Michery is a successful businessman and music executive. Born in California, David Michery attended Garfield High School. Michery began his music career as a teenager and went on to produce or executive produced more than a dozen18 award-winning gold and platinum records. In 2012, after 27 years in the music industry, David Michery purchased Mullen Motors from Arthur Allen, a Vietnam veteran and West Point graduate. David Michery’s company was re-named Mullen Technologies in August 2014, and now produces energy-efficient vehicles that are environmentally-friendly and affordable. In April 2018, Mullen Technologies opened its California-based Energy Division facility, which operates as a battery manufacturer division with a, battery pack testing facility and renewable energy research and development center.
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About Mullen Technologies: Mullen Technologies is a car manufacturer and distributor.
Kevin Czinger
Founder and CEO of Divergent 3D
Kevin Czinger serves as President and Chief Executive Officer of Miles Electric Vehicles. He has extensive operating experience and a proven track record of performance in start-up and emerging growth companies. Czinger has served as a senior executive with Goldman Sachs, Bertelsmann AG, the Webvan Group and Global Signal. He has also been active at Benchmark Capital and as a senior Managing Director of Fortress Private Equity Funds.
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About Divergent 3D: Divergent 3D aims to revolutionize the auto industry through 3D printing.
Tony Yoon
EVP, SKhynix NAND Solution Division & CEO of SK Hynix
Tony Yoon is CEO of SK Hynix Memory Solutions. A seasoned technology executive in the data storage industry, he has led worldwide development for mobile, client, and enterprise SSD solutions. He is also recognized as a leading SoC expert, having designed many ASIC SoCs for HDD and SDD products. His expertise spans SSDs, flash controllers, firmware architecture, eMMC/UFS interfaces, NVMe, and emerging non-volatile memory technologies. He has over 25 years of experience in the storage industry. Before joining SK Hynix Memory Solutions, Mr. Yoon was VP Storage VLSI Group at Marvell Semiconductor. He earned his BSEE from UC Berkeley and holds over 50 patents in memory technology.
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About SK Hynix: SK Hynix is the global leader in producing semiconductor, such as DRAM and NAND flash and System IC including CMOS Image Sensors.
Jeff Hastings
CEO of BrightSign
Jeff Hastings is the CEO of [BrightSign](https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/brightsign). He was previously the president and general manager of Corel. Before that, Hastings held several senior executive roles at M-Audio, Rio, SonicBlue, ReplayTV, and Acuson. Hastings holds a bachelor’s degree in computer science at Purdue University.
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About BrightSign: BrightSign is a manufacturer of digital media signage.
Jay Shukla
President and CEO of Nivagen Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
As a registered pharmacist with an MBA in pharmaceutical management, and over 20 years of diverse experience both in Asia and the USA, Jay brings expertise from both sides of the world. He specializes in business development, corporate strategy, sourcing and international business. Jay acquired more than 4 years of Indian pharmaceutical industry experience where he worked at different levels of supply chains: starting as a sales representative, and going up to product manager, and everything in between. Jay has worked in the US pharmaceutical industry for more than 16 years, again starting as pharmacist behind the counter, and then moving on to sourcing manager, and policy advisor to the largest state run Medicaid program in the US. Jay holds a B.S. in pharmacy from K.L.E.’s College of Pharmacy, Banglore, India, and an MBA in Pharmaceutical Studies from Silberman College of Business, Madison, New Jersey.
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About Nivagen Pharmaceuticals, Inc.: Nivagen engages in the development, acquisition, and sales of generic prescription drugs and over the counter products.
Dow Wilson
President and Chief Executive Officer of Varian
Dow R. Wilson is president and chief executive officer of Varian Medical Systems, a NYSE-listed medical device manufacturer with more than $3.3 billion in global sales. Varian designs and manufactures advanced equipment and software products for treating cancer with radiation as well as imaging components used in imaging and security applications. Mr. Wilson is also a member of the company’s Board of Directors.
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About Varian: Varian Medical Systems is a manufacturer of medical devices and software for treating cancer and other medical conditions.
Christophe Schilling
Co-Founder, President & CEO of Genomatica
Christophe co-founded Genomatica and has served as our Chief Executive Officer since May 2009. Christophe holds a Ph.D. in bioengineering from the University of California, San Diego where he was a Powell Foundation and Whitaker Foundation Fellow.He received a B.S. in biomedical engineering from Duke University where he was a Howard Hughes Undergraduate Research Fellow. Christophe’s awards include the Top 100 Young Innovators from MIT’s Technology Review, R&D100 for the SimPheny part of the company’s technology platform, and the Distinguished Young Alumnus from Duke University’s Edmund T. Pratt, Jr. School of Engineering.
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About Genomatica: Genomatica manufactures sustainable chemicals from renewable feedstocks.
Charles Liang
Founder, President, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Supermicro
Charles Liang founded Supermicro and has served as our President, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board since our inception in September 1993. Mr. Liang has been developing server system architectures and technologies for the past two decades. From July 1991 to August 1993, Mr. Liang was President and Chief Design Engineer of Micro Center Computer Inc., a high-end motherboard design and manufacturing company. From January 1988 to April 1991, Mr. Liang was Senior Design Engineer and Project Leader for Chips & Technologies, Inc., a chipset technology company, and Suntek Information International Group, a system and software development company. Mr. Liang has been granted many server technology patents. Mr. Liang holds an M.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Texas at Arlington and a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from National Taiwan University of Science & Technology in Taiwan.
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About Supermicro: Supermicro is a global leader in high-performance, high-efficiency server technology and innovation.
Joseph Heller
CEO and Founder of The/Studio
Joseph Heller is the CEO and founder of The/Studio.
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About The/Studio: The/Studio is an on-demand product creation and manufacturing platform for businesses to easily bring products to market.
Naganand Murty
Founder & CEO of Electric Sheep Robotics
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About Electric Sheep Robotics: Electric Sheep Robotics provides robotics and machinery solutions to industries needing mechanized solutions.
Steven Yu
Founder & CEO of StandDesk
Steven Yu is the founder and lead product developer for StandDesk, Inc., a innovative company poised to change the way people stay healthy, happy, and productive. From a very young age, Steven and his father (mechanical engineer) have designed, maintained, and repaired complicated machinery, like automative engines and transmissions. Although he received his undergraduate degree in Business Administration from the University of Southern California, he later applied his engineering talents during his International Masters Program in Beijing. Steven took on a project to develop the most affordable electric powered actuating system. Armed with his childhood mechanical engineering skills and married with his unique business flare, Steven completed the project in record time and now is poised to provide an affordable sit-to-stand desk solutions to the world.
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About StandDesk: A Wellness Company That Makes Awesome Standing Desks
Daniel Huang
Founder & CEO of Immotor
Daniel is the founder and CEO of Immotor. As a strategic visionary, Daniel has dedicated Immotor’s resources to the research and development of the world’s first intelligent electric personal transport powered by its own engineered “Super Battery”, a revolutionary green power management system. Previously, Daniel was the founder and CEO of mophie, where he led the company to become a pioneer in the market of intelligent smartphone accessories and to be recognized globally as a leader in the smartphone portable power market. The company’s products are sold in over 100 countries and more than 25,000 retail stores. Daniel is the inventor of the mophie juice pack, world’s first iPhone battery case that is now used by more than 15 million customers around the world. In 2012, mophie was ranked #20 on the Inc. 500’s list of America’s fastest growing company in the consumer products and services industry. Daniel was recognized as one of the top 15 East Asian Entrepreneurs in the U.S.. In 2013, Daniel was named the finalist of the prestigious Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award. Prior to mophie, Daniel was CEO of GGEC America from 1996 -2006. GGEC is publicly listed on the China stock market and is one of Asia’s leading audio electronic products manufacturers. Daniel is well known and respected by his colleagues and business partners for being able to see the big picture, while nailing the details. Not only is he a strategic thinker, he is also an avid inventor with multiple patents in the field of mobile power, mobile intelligence and consumer products. Daniel holds a Master of Business Administration with Beta Gamma Sigma honors from University of Southern California and a Bachelor Degree in Electric Engineering from Xi’An JiaoTong University, China.
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About Immotor: Immotor develops and sells portable and personal transport systems.
Samuel Jurist
Co-Founder & CEO of SHO Products
Samuel Jurist is the CEO of SHO Products, an international ancillary product distributor for the cannabis industry housing the brands Rosin Tech Products, Dab Nation and Masterminded Distribution.
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About SHO Products: SHO Products is the leading equipment and technology provider in the world for solventless agricultural equipment
Tom Afzal
Chief Executive Officer of Novum Medical
Chief Executive Officer and Board Member at Novum Medical, Inc.
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About Neuroventis, Novum Medical: Novum Medical develops biocompatible materials with broad applications for musculoskeletal clinical practices.
Vinit Saxena
Founder,Chairman & CEO of Sepragen
Mr. Saxena is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer. His background includes over 25 years of senior management experience in marketing operations at biotech companies and suppliers such as Bio-Rad Laboratories and Bio-Response (now Baxter Healthcare). Mr. Saxena started the Process Chromatography business for Bio-Rad and is credited with setting up one of the first large scale antibody production facilities in the world. Mr. Saxena has an M.S. in Chemical Engineering from Syracuse University and an M.B.A. from the University of California, Berkeley. He holds 6 patents.
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About Sepragen: Sepragen provides break-through products and processes to the biotechnology and nutraceutical industries.
Alissa M. Fitzgerald
Founder & CEO of A.M. Fitzgerald & Associates
Alissa M. Fitzgerald is founder and Managing Member, A.M. Fitzgerald & Associates.
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About A.M. Fitzgerald & Associates, Rigetti Computing: A.M. Fitzgerald & Associates provides MEMS product development and engineering services to companies and research institutions.
Alexandra Rasch Castillo
Founder and CEO of Caban Systems
Alexandra Rasch Castillo is founder and CEO at Caban Systems.
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About Caban Systems: Caban Systems designs a software enabled energy storage solution for telecom infrastructure providers worldwide.
Venkat Mattela
CEO of Redpine Signals
Venkat Mattela is Chief Executive Officer of Redpine Signals, Inc. He has over 30 years of engineering and management experience in the semiconductor industry and drives company’s strategy, execution and R&D. Prior to Redpine, he was at Network Media Platforms Group of Analog Devices as Director and was responsible for the product, strategy and business development for media wireless connectivity solutions (WLAN, WMAN). He also led the VLSI development from concept engineering to release of multiple industry leading networking silicon products resulting in a multi-million dollar product line. Prior to joining ADI, Mr. Mattela was at Infineon Technologies as Director and was responsible for micro-architecture and design of TriCore MCU-DSP processor. He led the team to take the architecture to multiple silicon implementations. Mr. Mattela started his career at Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, India in January 1983 and held various engineering positions at LSI Logic, LMSI and CMC Ltd. Mr. Mattela has a Master’s Degree in Computer Sciences from Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, India and holds 11 US patents.
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About Redpine Signals: Redpine Signals is a wireless systems company with unique chipset and system level products for wireless networks.
Avi Katz
Chairman of the Board, Chief Executive Officer and President of Gigpeak
Founder, Chairman of the Board, Chief Executive Officer and President of GigOptix, Inc. Dr. Avi Katz has served as the Chairman of the board of directors, Chief Executive Officer & President of GigOptix LLC since inception in May 2007 and through its public offering in December 2007. Previously, Dr. Katz served as the Chief Executive Officer and President of iTerra Communications LLC, Intransa Inc., from 2003 to 2005, and Equator Technologies Inc., from 2000 to 2003. Earlier he served in various sales, marketing and operational executive positions following his tenure service as a Member of the Technical Staff in AT&T Bell Labs, Murray Hill, NJ, between 1988 and 1995. Dr. Katz is active in philanthropy and among others serves as a board member for the Israeli Venture Network (IVN), a NFP social philanthropy network. He holds more than 70 U.S. and international patents, has published approximately 300 technical papers and is the editor of a number of technical books. Dr. Katz received his Ph.D. in Materials Engineering from the Technion-IIT, Israel, and is a graduate of the Israeli Naval Academy.
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About Gigpeak: GigOptix provides semiconductor and optical components that enable high-speed information streaming.
Frank Yang
Chief Executive Officer, Design Director and Founder of simplehuman
In 2000, Frank Yang founded simplehuman with a goal to revitalize the trash can industry. Today, not only is the Los Angeles-based company the leader in stainless-steel step cans, but it also has expanded its vision—to design “tools for efficient living”—to more than 100 patented innovations and other products such as sensor soap pumps, kitchen and bathroom organization, and beauty tools. All simplehuman products embody efficient living design, a principle Yang defines as designing each product so it performs its intended task perfectly. To that end, all products are ergonomic, easy-to-clean, highly functional and durable as well. Under Yang’s design direction, in 2004 BusinessWeek/Industrial Design Society of America named simplehuman as one of the top corporations for Industrial Design Excellence. Yang has also garnered international design awards from organizations including reddot, International Housewares Association and I.D. Magazine. simplehuman products are available at fine specialty retailers in including Bed Bath & Beyond, Williams-Sonoma and Sephora as well as the company’s website simplehuman.com.
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About simplehuman: simplehuman designs and manufactures homeware products.
Yuliya Raquel
CEO & Co-Founder of Tailornova (powered by Mylinego, Inc) of TAILORNOVA
Yuliya Raquel is a celebrity designer and founder of fashion startups such as the COUTURME and Tailornova.
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About COUTURME, TAILORNOVA: TAILORNOVA is a web-based 3D Fashion Design SaaS, enabling automation of apparel design, development, and on-demand manufacturing.
Rami Rostami
Founder / CEO of SensoScientific
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About SensoScientific, Technocel, TYLT Ventures, ULTRATOOTH by Biodent: SensoScientific provides calibration services in the Temperature/Humidity Monitoring industry as well as design & manufacture transmitters.
Jonathan Yaney
Founder & CEO of SpinLaunch
Jonathan Yaney is the founder and CEO of SpinLaunch.
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About SpinLaunch: SpinLaunch develops a kinetic launch system for sending satellites to low-Earth orbit.
Kirk Hawkins
Founder & CEO of ICON Aircraft
Kirk Hawkins is the Founder & CEO of ICON Aircraft.
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About ICON Aircraft: ICON Aircraft manufactures consumer-friendly, safe, technologically advanced aircrafts.
Benny Buller
Founder & CEO of Velo3D
Benny Buller started his career in Israel in the Technology unit of the intelligence forces. While there he learned to appreciate the values of imaginative innovation, precise execution, team work, diversity of opinions and that there is no impossible mission to the ones who dare. For his unique contributions, he was awarded by the president, the prestigious national security award. Benny then joined Applied Materials, where he led the work on semiconductor wafer inspection platform and later on electron beam mask writing system, becoming aware to the new growth opportunities in Solar, he decided to leave Applied Materials and join his first start-up, Solyndra. Joining Solyndra as VP of back end technology and engineering in its earliest stage he defined the company’s product by a series of inventions that became the company’s core IP. He hired an excellent team and led it from early concept through product demonstration, manufacturing process development, equipment design and early scale up. However, as the cost model was firming up, he became convinced, four years before the company’s collapse that the company’s cost structure is fundamentally inferior to First Solar, the cost leader of the industry Impressed by First Solar’s cost advantage and its momentum he joined First Solar as director of device physics and built this team. He pushed it from support of incremental improvements to more radical device research and innovation, resulting in crushing of the CdTe cell and module efficiency world records. . After being promoted to VP Module integration, heading all the technology development for the CdTe PV module, he reorganized the development department and realigned its processes, methods and interactions with the manufacturing organization that resulted in doubling the module efficiency improvement rate. Benny graduated from the Jerusalem University in Physics. He is also an Electrical Engineering (communications) graduate from the Technion in Israel. He has more than 70 published patent applications as well as more than 15 granted patents. Benny is married to his lovely wife Ronit and they have four children. His favorite way of spending his free time is by hiking with his family. He can be reached at bb@khoslaventures.com.
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About Velo3D: Velo3D is a digital manufacturing company using a Sapphire 3D production printer and flow print preparation software to print 3D metals.
Romesh Wadhwani
Chairman and CEO of SymphonyAI
Romesh Wadhwani founded Symphony Technology Group in 2002 for one reason: he is passionate about building companies. After a 30-year career as an entrepreneur in the enterprise software sector, Romesh launched STG to lend his expertise and passion to investing. Before starting STG, Romesh was the founder, chairman and CEO of Aspect Development, Inc. until 1999, when the company was acquired by i2 Technologies. For nearly a decade, Romesh grew Aspect Development into a leader in business-to-business commerce software, which culminated in the merger of Aspect with supply chain software company i2 Technologies. At that time, this combination was one of the largest enterprise software mergers.
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About ConcertAI, National Entrepreneurship Network, Symphony RetailAI, Symphony Summit, Symphony Technology Group, Symphony Technology Group, SymphonyAI, Terarecon, Wadhwani AI, Wadhwani Foundation: SymphonyAI is an enterprise AI company focused on delivering AI solutions for vertical sectors
Raouf Halim
President & CEO of Spectra7 Microsystems
Beginning in 2014, Raouf Halim served as CEO and co-founder of icClarity, developing a disruptive 3D video capture solution for applications in AR/VR, mobile, and automotive markets. Prior to icClarity he served for ten years as president, CEO, & board member of Mindspeed Technologies, where he rebuilt the executive team, repositioned their product portfolio, and executed a successful growth strategy for high-performance analog. Previously, Halim was a senior vice president and general manager at Conexant Systems, Inc., formerly Rockwell Semiconductor Systems. Mr. Halim joined Rockwell in 1991 and held a number of senior business and technical positions, including vice president, and design leader for VLSI engineering. He began his career at Hayes Microcomputer Products developing first-of-their-kind technologies and applications. Mr. Halim’s Master’s degree in electrical engineering was earned at Georgia Institute of Technology, and his bachelor’s degree in communications and electro physics was received from the University of Alexandria, Egypt. Mr. Halim holds 14 patents, and is active in a number of industry and community organizations as well as several advisory roles within the University of California, Irvine.
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About icClarity, Spectra7 Microsystems: Spectra7 Microsystems specializes in the fields of wireless infrastructure and data center active cables.
Tony Stelliga
CEO of Spectra7 Microsystems
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About Redmere Technology, Spectra7 Microsystems: Spectra7 Microsystems specializes in the fields of wireless infrastructure and data center active cables.
Felix Ejeckam
Co-Founder and CEO of Akash Systems
Felix Ejeckam, Ph.D. co-founded Akash Systems in January 2016. Felix is a seasoned entrepreneur, electrical engineer, and venture capitalist. Prior to Akash, Felix invented GaN-on-Diamond technology in 2003 at Group4 Labs, Inc. He was Co-founder/CEO of Group4 Labs until 2013 when he sold the business to a De Beers business unit (Element Six Technologies). Prior to Group4, Felix was co-founder/CEO of venture-backed Nova Crystals, Inc., a developer and maker of next-generation semiconductor lasers and detectors for Telecom/Datacom markets. Felix began his career as a management consultant with McKinsey & Company, Inc. in 1997. He has published over 100 journal and conference papers, holding many patents. Felix holds a Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Cornell University with a minor in Materials Science & Engineering.
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About Akash Systems: Akash Systems is focused on developing and supplying the next generation of communications gear for space satellites.
Ethan Escowitz
Co-founder and CEO of ARRIS
Ethan Escowitz is the CEO and co-founder at Arris Composites.
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About ARRIS: ARRIS is a technology company enabling the design and manufacture of the highest-performance products at scale.
Vivek Joshi
Co-Founder & CEO of Entytle
Vivek is founder and CEO of LumaSense Technologies, a sensor & instrumentation company focused on the energy, cleantech and industrial markets. Vivek brings significant leadership experience to LumaSense Technologies. He is an executive with experience in various industries, spanning private equity, high technology, diversified industrial manufacturing and healthcare. Most recently, Vivek was an Operating Partner at Shah Capital Partners and Senior Vice President of Marketing for Sun Services, a $3.6 billion division of Sun Microsystems. He also served at Webvan as Vice-President of Program Operations, at GE Transportation as General Manager, Off Highway/Transit Systems, GE Corporate as Manager of Corporate Initiatives; Management Consulting with Booz Allen & Hamilton and operational experiences with Johnson & Johnson. Vivek has an M.S. in Chemical Engineering and an M.B.A. from the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia , Charlottesville and a B.Tech in Chemical Engineering from IIT, Mumbai.
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About Entytle: Entytle uses AI and ML to empower manufacturers to unlock installed base value.
Bob Plaschke
CEO and President of Sonim Technologies
Since 2004, Bob Plaschke has served as Sonim’s President and Chief Executive Officer. Before joining Sonim, Mr. Plaschke served as entrepreneur-in-residence at Sutter Hill Ventures, where he focused on wireless investments. Before joining Sutter Hill, Mr. Plaschke was Senior Vice President of worldwide client services at Infospace and as Chief Financial Officer and Vice President for Business Development at Prio, a wireless and wireline promotion infrastructure company that was later acquired by Infospace. While at Prio, Mr. Plaschke oversaw the implementation of wireless data solutions across the company’s carriers. Mr. Plaschke is a board member of the CTIA’s Wireless Internet Caucus. The group includes key industry CEOs that advise the CTIA on how to maintain and develop a vibrant wireless Internet ecosystem. Mr. Plaschke received a B.S. in computer engineering from Northwestern University and an M.B.A. from the University of Chicago.
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About Sonim Technologies: Sonim Technologies manufactures mobile phones designed specifically for workers in demanding and hazardous environments.
Erik Kiser
Founder and CEO of Orderful
Solving the integration problem for enterprises.
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About Orderful: API for EDI powering supply chains
Belinda Padilla
President / CEO of Armatix GmbH
Belinda Padilla is a leader and innovator in the technology sector. Her professional background includes a decade’s worth of achievements in the telecommunications industry where she spearheaded a wide variety of innovative and strategic initiatives. She is the President and CEO of Armatix USA, Inc., the pioneer of 21st Century gun safety. Armatix is the first and only global provider of intelligent pistols and mechatronic systems that secure conventional firearms, limiting their functionality to authorized users. Prior to becoming CEO of Armatix, Belinda was Executive Vice President at Entravision Communications, the largest publicly traded Hispanic Media Company in the US. She served as a cross-function senior strategic lead and managed the development of numerous groundbreaking growth initiatives. Prior to Entravision, Padilla launched the US arm of Pliq (a European mobile company). As Executive Vice President of Sales and Business Development, Padilla hired and developed sales executives responsible for cultivating new business with fortune 500 companies. Padilla started her career at Pacific Bell. Her unique approach to the management of sales teams throughout the United States was so successful that upon acquiring AT&T, Padilla was promoted to Director of Global Sales. As the Global Sales Director, Padilla oversaw sales efforts throughout Europe, Asia, South America and the United States, significantly expanding these worldwide business opportunities. Padilla earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from UCLA. She is fluent in English, Spanish and Italian. Padilla resides in Los Angeles, California.
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About Armatix GmbH: Armatix is a gun safety company that offers intelligent radio-controlled, wireless locking, and access control systems for guns.
Joy Weiss
President & CEO of Tempo Automation
Joy Weiss, currently President of Dust Networks at Analog Devices, has held executive leadership positions over the past 35 years at a variety of private and public technology companies. Joy was CEO of Dust Networks, a pioneer in industrial wireless sensor networking, when it was acquired by Linear Technology in 2011, and she has served on the boards of several private companies in Silicon Valley. She is currently on the board of Vigilent and Tempo Automation. Joy is also the Chair of the board of Playworks, a national non-profit based in Oakland, CA. Joy holds a BSEE from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
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About Analog Devices, InkSpace Imaging, Tempo Automation: Tempo Automation is transforming the way companies innovate and bring new electronic products to market.
Cory Ondrejka
Co-Founder & CEO of Mori
Cory Ondrejka is the CEO and co-founder of mori, inc. (formerly Overlook Research), a stealth, venture-funded startup in Los Gatos, CA. Prior to mori, Ondrejka led the Mobile Product group at Facebook and was responsible for Facebook’s mobile turnaround and delivering Facebook to over a billion mobile customers worldwide. Ondrejka also led Facebook’s multi-billion dollar acquisition and integration of Oculus VR. Before Facebook, Ondrejka was the co-founder of Walletin, a startup focused on high-performance javascript and Web rendering acquired by Facebook in 2010. He was the Chief Technology Officer of Linden Lab, where he co-created the award-winning virtual world Second Life. He has served as Executive Vice President for Global Digital Marketing at EMI Music, and has been a visiting professor at the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Southern California where he gave classes on online communities. Ondrejka began his career in game development startups, shipping arcade and console video game titles. He holds a bachelor’s of science degree in Weapons and Systems Engineering from the United States Naval Academy and was an officer in the US Navy. Ondrejka also advises several early-state technology companies.
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About Mori: Mori is a branded food company with quality products.
Frank Fischer
President and CEO of NeuroPace
Frank Fischer has more than 25 years of senior management experience in the medical device industry. The president and CEO of the biomedical device company NeuroPace, he has served on the company’s board since 1998 and joined the company as its chief executive officer in January 2000. Prior to joining Neuropace, Mr. Fischer was president and chief executive officer of Heartport, Inc., a cardiac surgery company, from May 1998 until September 1999 and served on Heartport’s board of directors. Mr. Fischer was president and chief executive officer and a director of Ventritex, Inc., a company that pioneered implantable cardiac defibrillators, from 1987 until the sale of the company to St. Jude Medical, Inc. in early 1997. Mr. Fischer holds an M.S. in management from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Currently, he serves on the boards of several privately held medical device companies.
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About NeuroPace: NeuroPace develops and markets implantable devices for the treatment of neurological disorders.
Gerald Yin
CEO of Advanced Micro-Fabrication Equipment
Gerald (Zheyao) Yin has served as AMEC’s chairman and CEO since the company was founded in 2004. He brings more than 28 years of product development and executive management experience in the semiconductor equipment industry. Prior to AMEC, Dr. Yin spent 13 years at Applied Materials. While there, he held a variety of executive positions, including corporate vice president and general manager of the Etch product business group, vice president of Asia sourcing and procurement, and chief technology officer of Applied Materials Asia. Dr. Yin joined Intel central technology development when he first arrived in Silicon Valley in 1984. In 1986, he moved to Lam Research, where he led the Etch technology development and introduction initiatives for several key products. Dr. Yin received his Bachelor of Science in chemical physics from the University of Science and Technology, China. He pursued his graduate studies at Beijing University, Department of Chemistry. He received his Ph.D. in physical chemistry from the University of California, Los Angeles. Prior to his U.S. experience, he served the Chinese Academy of Sciences as a research group leader where he received two national science team awards. He holds 74 U.S. patents, with more pending.
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About Advanced Micro-Fabrication Equipment: Advanced Micro-Fabrication Equipment provides microfabrication services for the semiconductor and high-tech industries.
Simon K. Hodson
CEO of Earthshell
Simon K. Hodson is CEO at Earthshell.
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About Earthshell: EarthShell Corporation (the “Company”) is a development stage company engaged in the licensing and commercialization of a proprietary.
David Goeckeler
Chief Executive Officer of Western Digital
As Senior Vice President and General Manager of the Security Business Group (SBG), David Goeckeler is responsible for Cisco’s global, industry-leading security business, which includes all solutions related to network security, content security, secure access and mobility, and threat defense. He also drives the company’s cross-portfolio security strategy, architecture and internal security platforms. Prior to this role, Goeckeler served as Vice President of Product and Platform Engineering for SBG where he was responsible for the hardware and software architecture, specification, design, development and support of Cisco’s network and content security platforms and products. He also led the integration of the Sourcefire engineering team and associated offerings, including Cisco ASA with FirePOWER Services and Advanced Malware Protection. Goeckeler has been instrumental in defining Cisco’s end-to-end security architecture, including the integration of security into the broader Cisco portfolio. A Cisco veteran of 14 years, Goeckeler has led systems and product development for both service provider and enterprise markets, including voice-over-IP, mobility, and video. Prior to Cisco he worked at Bell Laboratories and BellSouth Telecommunications. He has also been active in several entrepreneurial ventures. Goeckeler holds a bachelor’s degrees computer science and mathematics from the University of Missouri at Columbia, a master’s degree in computer science from the University of Illinois at Urbana- Champaign, and master’s degree in business administration from both Columbia University and the University of California at Berkeley.
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About Western Digital: WD is driving the innovation needed to help customers capture, preserve, access, and transform an ever-increasing diversity of data.
Chris Stephenson
Co-Founder and CEO of Madre Mezcal
Chris Stephenson is the Co-Founder and CEO of Madre Mezcal. He is also the President and COO of Viggle Inc. where he manages the overall business, marketing, product and P&L for the popular loyalty program for television. He joined Viggle Inc. in 2011 with seasoned experience developing internationally-recognized advertising, marketing, and entertainment campaigns. Most recently, Chris lead marketing for Interscope Records, home of multi-platinum recording artists such as Lady Gaga, Eminem, and U2. Previously, Chris led global entertainment marketing at Microsoft. He led marketing and sales for House of Blues and also ran multiple award-winning international advertising campaigns and sponsor-driven programs, including the European Music Awards, for MTV and VH1.
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About Madre Mezcal, SFX Entertainment: Madre Mezcal is a distillery company that specializes in manufacturing and selling alcoholic beverages.
Andrew Martz
CEO of ArchForm
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About ArchForm: Archform is making the next generation of clear aligners enabled by powerful by 3D software and 3D printing.
Brent Shedd
CEO of Stout AgTech
Brent Shedd is the Chief Executive Officer of Stout Industrial Technology.
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About Stout AgTech: OEM of Intelligent Farm Machines
Christian Georg Strobl
CEO and Founder of Atlantis
Christian Georg Strobl is the Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Atlantis. He is responsible for creating, communicating and implementing the overall vision and strategy for the company. Prior to Atlantis, Christian build a successful marketplace for software services and worked in the Private Equity industry. He is as a regular contributor to industry publications about digital transformation, network effects and artificial intelligence Outside of work, Christian enjoys exercising and spending time with his family
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About Atlantis: Atlantis is a software startup that develops productivity software for machine workers and process engineers.
Jesse Genet
Co-Founder and CEO of Lumi
Jesse Genet is the CEO and co-founder of Lumi.com — a modern packaging partner for e-commerce brands.
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About Lumi: Lumi is a packaging supply chain platform for online brands.
Gilbert Passin
Chief Operating Officer & Chief Executive Officer of Wrightspeed
Gilbert Passin is the Chief Operating Officer and Chief Operating Officer at Wrightspeed.
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About Wrightspeed: Wrightspeed provides electric drivetrains as retrofit kits to the heavy-duty truck market.
Lothar Maier
CEO of Linear Technology
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About Linear Technology: Linear Technology Corporation has built a reputation as the premier analog semiconductor company in the industry.
Aleksey Matyushev
CEO / Co-founder of Natilus
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About Natilus: Natilus is building large scale commercial drones the size of a B747 to help reduce the cost of air freight by 50%.
Richard Wang
CEO/Co-Founder of Cuberg
CEO and Co-Founder at Cuberg
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About Cuberg: Cuberg is a company delivering lithium metal cells produced on existing lithium-ion manufacturing lines for electromobility solutions.
