49 women to watch in venture on the US West Coast

Betty Bryant

Principal
Woven Capital
Based in Palo Alto, California

Many people who start a career in corporate venturing tend to have previously worked in the venture capital field. But for Betty Bryant, the principal at Woven Capital, the corporate venture arm of Japan-based multinational automotive manufacturer Toyota, CVC has been the only venture capital space she has been in.

“I joined the CVC world right after business school at Wharton in 2017. I first started at the CVC arm of SK Telecom which has an office in Silicon Valley. I moved out to the West Coast after spending most of my adult life on the East Coast,” she says.

Bryant says she has never regretted her move to Silicon Valley because she loves being exposed to the investment world.

Bryant joined Woven Capital in 2021 and also acts as the principal for Toyota’s other corporate venture firm, Woven by Toyota. She says that entering the venture capital space is a major learning curve.

“There is no set training manual or process when entering this industry. You have to learn everything on the job, which was a challenge. Also, it was hard building a network from scratch, especially when I came in with zero contacts,” she says.

Bryant continues: “Though building up my network was time-consuming, it was rewarding. You have to go out and network as much as possible.”

She previously was an analyst for investment bank UBS for a year and was also the chief financial officer at Jerrick for two years.

Founded in 2021, Woven Capital is an $800m global fund that invests in growth stage startups focusing on technology and innovation in the mobility sector. The fund has five companies in its portfolio including Ridecell, Nuro and Whill.

“Right now, I’m focused on mobility since I am working for Toyota’s growth stage fund, which looks at autonomous technologies, whether it be autonomous cars, robots for manufacturing spaces or the connected vehicle space. Staying fresh on new technologies is important for any VC role,” Bryant says.

Bryant has a bachelor’s degree in operations research and engineering from Cornell University and a master’s in finance and entrepreneurial management from The Wharton School.

Like any industry, Bryant believes that CVC would benefit from a greater gender balance. “Sometimes when I attend large events I look in a room and I can count the number of women in the space. It’s unfortunate and discouraging, especially given the fact that the industry is so network and people-driven. It’s a great space for women,” she says.

Bryant continues: “I’m not uncomfortable networking with men but it’s always initially awkward when you’re at a private dinner with 10 men and one woman. It’s easier to connect with other women, too.”

Bryant says that interpersonal relationships in the industry between women are powerful. “My current manager is a woman and I realised that before her I had never had a female boss. I never noticed different management styles up until this point, but my current manager is making me notice a huge difference in my career development. Whether it’s because we as women can relate to one another or we just feel more comfortable, I have noticed a vast difference,” she says.

Bryant says her experience with her boss has made her realise how mentoring opportunities will help promote more women in the sector. “If we could have more mentoring opportunities and individualised contact with everyday tasks, it would provide an amazing opportunity for women,” she says.

Rita Waite

Investor
In-Q-Tel
Based in San Francisco, California

Rita Waite, an investor at In-Q-Tel (IQT), a strategic investor for the U.S. Intelligence and Defense communities, was introduced to corporate venturing by working in corporate strategy. 

“Entering into venture capital through corporate strategy is perhaps an unusual path compared to other investors in CVC,” says Waite. “I’ve always been involved in the strategy side of innovation and had the opportunity to join the venture team at a time when Juniper was rethinking its investment strategy, which was honestly a great way to learn about venture capital and start building my investment thesis and network.”

Waite says that her time at Juniper Networks provided her with exposure to venture capital as she joined the Juniper Ventures team. 

She also says that working in corporate venturing comes with many different challenges that you have to adapt to. “The biggest challenge for me was when our family decided to move from California to Portugal and it made me realise that I needed to figure out how to navigate different geographies, different business models and needed more operational experience,” Waite says. 

She continues: “After leaving the States, I joined a commercial bank to lead their strategy and innovation team within payments, which was a new vertical and business model, so figuring out how to balance that and develop a new skill set, knowing full well I would jump back to venture was an interesting process.” 

Waite has held her position at IQT for over a year. Before this, she was a venture capital investor for a year at Semapa Next, the corporate venture fund of Portugal-based financial holding company Semapa. As mentioned, she also spent almost nine years at Juniper Networks holding positions including growth strategy and venture investments investor and senior analyst for business operations and portfolio management. 

“Now at IQT, I co-lead our AI and fintech investments within the enterprise practice and several of our computer networking and quantum deals on the hardware side,” she says. “I am really excited about all the potential AI has to offer, especially in the context of IQT, where our mission is to bring innovative, commercially viable technologies into our government partners.”

Waite continues: “I feel incredibly fortunate to be able to work with exceptional people and companies that are not only building the best technology but also from the lens of addressing real use cases.”

Founded in 1999, IQT invests in venture-backed startups developing technologies that provide innovation to the intelligence and defense communities. The firm invests across space, biotechnology, deep tech, communications, enterprise software and others. IQT invested in over 700 startups including Capella, GitLab, Ginkgo Bioworks and Sandbox. 

Waite says that corporate venturing, like most industries, would benefit from a greater gender balance and further claims that women are making a massive and outsized impact in every industry on the globe. 

She says that the correct mentorship is what allowed her to acquire her current position. “I had a tremendous mentor who happened to be a man. It was someone who had a different point of view and had a great impact on pushing me in the right direction. So I think it is really important to seek out diversity and different points of view,” she says. 

Waite continues: “More mentoring, more exposure and bringing in that diversity is so important, not just for women but beyond that with race, age and more. To encourage more women into the sector you need to make an effort on mentoring, and networking – find people who will push you to new areas and help overcome barriers you would not have done otherwise.”

Adrianna Altermann

Principal
Salesforce Ventures Impact Fund
Based in San Francisco, California

Adrianna Altermann is the principal of the Salesforce Ventures Impact Fund, the corporate venture subsidiary of US-based cloud and software company Salesforce.

Founded in 2017, the venture capital fund invests in IT startups focusing on climate, sustainability and education sectors. The $150m fund has invested in 28 companies including Flutterwave, a Nigeria-headquartered fintech company, and US-based software job placement network for software developers Andela.

Altermann began at Salesforce in 2019 as the senior manager of the Salesforce Ventures Impact Fund before progressing to her current position in 2021. Before this, she was senior associate for a year at venture capital fund Amplify Capital and spent another year as a senior associate of impact investing at MaRS Discovery District, a Canada-based urban innovation hub.

Sara A. Jones

Head of aerospace investment
Honeywell Ventures
Based in Seattle, Washington

Sara A. Jones is the head of aerospace investment at Honeywell Ventures, the corporate venture capital arm of US-based conglomerate Honeywell.

Based in Menlo Park, California, Honeywell Ventures was founded in 2017. The firm invests in early to high-growth-stage companies developing software, autonomous operations and life sciences sectors.

Honeywell Ventures has more than 38 companies in its portfolio and has invested in close to 64 startups such as Canada-based manufacturing AI platform DarwinAI, which has raised $21m. The firm’s portfolio company Foghorn was also acquired by Johnson Controls for an undisclosed sum in 2022.

Jones joined Honeywell Ventures in October 2023. She supports startups and entrepreneurs specialising in the space sector.

Jones spent five years working for US-based aviation and aerospace corporation Boeing, serving as the innovation director and principal strategist. She was the innovation and venture capital lead at Boeing HorizonX, the corporation’s venturing unit.

Anna Barbashova

Director
Slalom Ventures
Based in Los Angeles, California

Anna Barbashova is a director at Slalom Ventures, the venturing arm of Washington-based business and technology consulting firm Slalom.

Slalom Ventures partners with enterprises to accelerate and curate startups focusing on a range of sectors such as agriculture, AI and health and medical devices. The firm’s investments and portfolio have been left undisclosed.

Slalom is a $2.9bn corporation based in Denver, Colorado. The company specialises in offering consulting services for the automotive, financial, and food and beverages sectors.

Barbashova has held her position at Slalom Ventures for five years. Prior to this, she was the director of fintech solutions at PwC for two years and spent seven years at the financial services company Numerix, where she was vice president and head of product management of cross-asset and lead financial engineer.

Otilia Barbuta

Senior associate
HP Tech Ventures
Based in San Francisco, California

Otilia Barbuta is a senior associate of HP Tech Ventures, the corporate venture unit of US-based computer hardware company The Hewlett-Packard Company (HP).

Founded in 2016, the firm invests in IT, media and industrial startups focusing on 3D printing, AI, VR and AR content. HP Tech Ventures has 15 companies in its portfolio and has invested in 23 startups such as cloud-based media sharing platform Parsec and medical 3D printing software developer Adaptiiv.

Barbuta joined HP in 2015, working in Spain as the EMEA business development manager. She became senior associate at HP Tech Ventures in May 2020.

Barbuta was also a project manager for The League for Defense of Human Rights, an NGO working on inclusivity in Romania and was an ambassador and marketing department assistant at the International Business Academy.

Amy Belt Raimundo

Managing director
Kaiser Permanente Ventures
Based in San Francisco, California

Amy Belt Raimundo is managing director of Kaiser Permanente Ventures, the corporate venture firm of US-based healthcare company Kaiser Permanente.

Launched in 1997, Kaiser Permanente Ventures invests in healthcare services, healthcare IT and medical devices startups. The corporate venture firm has 37 companies in its portfolio and has invested in 159 businesses, including incision-free medical devices manufacturer Gynesonics which raised $42.5m in November 2023.

Kaiser Permanente Ventures has had 61 exits, including virtual healthcare platform for mental health sufferers Ginger.io, which merged with Headspace in 2021.

Raimundo has been Kaiser Permanente Ventures’ managing director for seven years. She is an investor and board observer for several startups such as Osso VR and NextHealth Technologies. Previously, Raimundo was chief business officer of Evidation Health and vice president of Covidien Ventures.

Raimundo was listed on the GCV Powerlist in 2023. She has a master’s degree from the University of California Haas School of Business.

Jennifer Carter

Partner and vice president of venture operations
McKesson Ventures
Based in Los Angeles, California

Jennifer Carter is the partner and vice president of venture operations at McKesson Ventures, the corporate venture subsidiary of US-based healthcare company McKesson.

McKesson Ventures was founded in 2014 and invests in healthcare startups focusing on digital health and the pharmacy supply chain. The venture firm has close to 30 companies in its portfolio and has invested in 64 startups, including 3D visualisation software for the healthcare industry Digital Artefacts and cancer technology detector CancerIQ.

In addition, McKesson Ventures’ team is diverse with six out of eight team members being women.

Carter has been a part of McKesson since 2010. She started off in McKesson Specialty Health, a subsidiary of McKesson, as a client executive. She moved to McKesson, acting as the director of the hospital programme office and director of marketing communications, before moving to the venture unit in 2015.

In McKesson Ventures, Carter has held various positions such as vice president of portfolio development, and marketing and vice president of venture operations.

Domitilla Caputo

Head
SAP.io
Based in San Francisco, California

Domitilla Caputo is the head of SAP.io San Francisco, the corporate incubator and accelerator of Germany-based multinational software company SAP.

Founded in 2017, SAP.io invests in sectors such as finance, customer services and social impact. The accelerator has supported over 600 companies including Pyron, a US-based enterprise software startup that raised $100m in a series B round in 2023.

SAP.io also oversaw 17 startup exits in 2023, most notably US-based data lineage platform Manta which was acquired by IBM.

Caputo joined SAP.io San Francisco in 2017 as a programme manager at SAP.io Foundry. She then progressed her current position in 2020 and was also appointed the head of SAP.io Latin America in 2022.

In addition, Caputo is the creator of SAP.io Innovation Advisory, a community of SAP customers and thought leaders who advise SAP.io portfolio companies.

Caputo was selected to participate in SAP’s pro-bono for economic equity to support Black-owned businesses. She also co-led SAP’s Business Women Network, where she headed a speed mentoring initiative with SAP executives.

Before this, Caputo was a startup mentor for three years at The Expat Woman, the professional teaching and coaching platform, and spent several months as a marketing lead for TedX.

Audrey Charles

President and senior vice president of corporate strategy
Lam Capital
Based in Fremont, California

Audrey Charles is the president and senior vice president of corporate strategy at Lam Capital, the corporate venture arm of semiconductor company Lam Research.

Lam Capital was founded in 2016 and invests in disruptive technologies impacting the semiconductor industry and technology extension sectors. The firm has 17 companies in its portfolio and has invested in 25 startups such as US-based 3D printing technology developer Fabric8Labs, which raised $50m in a series B round in February 2023.

A company veteran, Charles has been at Lam Research since 1995. She has held various positions such as process engineer and managing director of investor relations. In 2020 she became senior vice president of corporate strategy at Lam Research and is responsible for leading the management team and developing strategies that support the company’s long-term growth.

Charles has a bachelor’s degree in applied physics from Dublin City University and a master’s degree from MIT Sloan School of Management.

Jill Chase

Partner
CapitalG
Based in San Francisco, California

Jill Chase is a partner at CapitalG, the independent corporate venture fund of US-based conglomerate Alphabet.

Launched in 2013, CapitalG focuses on later-stage growth equity investments in technology companies. CapitalG has over 40 companies in its portfolio and has invested in more than 130 startups, including identity platform ID.me and payroll and business management software developer TeamSystem.

Chase has been a partner at CapitalG for over three years. Alongside this, she has been a guest lecturer at Stanford University Graduate Business for four years.

Prior to this, Chase spent two years as the chief executive of IT services company Interlaced and spent another two years as an operating executive at Alpine Investors, a private equity firm.

Amy Daniels Burr

President
JetBlue Ventures
Based in San Mateo, California

Amy Daniels Burr is president of JetBlue Ventures, the corporate venture unit of US-based low-cost airline JetBlue.

Founded in 2016, JetBlue Ventures invests in the travel, transportation, hospitality and technology sectors. The CVC has 32 companies in its portfolio and has invested in over 60 startups, such as emissions reduction service provider Rubicon Carbon and Shift5, a provider of defense weapons systems.

Burr began at JetBlue Ventures five years ago, starting as the managing director of operations and partnerships before accepting her current position in 2021. She serves as a member of the board of directors at JetBlue Foundation and for startups such as Stride Travel.

A travel and hospitality expert, Burr has been in the airline industry for two decades, having previously worked for four years at Continental Airlines as a manager of alliance performance and as a strategic analyst. She spent another twelve years at Virgin America where she was director of airline projects, and director of distribution channels and sales support.

Burr has been listed twice on GCV’s Powerlist, both in 2021 and 2023. She has a Master’s of Business Administration with a focus on information systems from the University of South Carolina Darla Moore School of Business.

Alyona Fedorova

Managing member
Zoom Ventures
Based in El Segundo, California

Alyona Fedorova is the managing member at Zoom Ventures, the corporate venture arm of US-based software company Zoom.

Launched in 2022, Zoom Ventures invests in early and growth stage startups focusing on the IT sector. The firm has 19 companies in its portfolio and has invested in 22 startups including US-based wellness coaching platform TaskHuman, which raised $20m in a series B round in 2022.

Fedorova has been the managing member at Zoom Ventures for over five years. Alongside this position, she works in the real estate sector as a real estate broker and officer for Stardom Real Estate and is also the president and managing member of Stardom Real Estate Companies.

Stacy Feld

Head of West North America
Johnson & Johnson Innovation
Based in San Francisco, California

Stacy Feld is the head of West North America at Johnson & Johnson Innovation, the corporate venture unit of US-based pharmaceutical conglomerate Johnson & Johnson.

Founded in 1973, Johnson & Johnson Innovation invests seed to series A and beyond in companies operating in the pharmaceuticals, consumer health and medical devices sectors. The venture arm has 112 companies in its portfolio and has invested in close to 500 startups including AviadoBio, Arialys and Healthjump.

Johnson & Johnson Innovation has also had 194 exits with its most notable being S-Biomedic, a life science company specialising in skin microbiome research, which was acquired by Beiersdorf in 2022.

Feld has been a part of Johnson and Johnson for nearly 10 years. She started as the corporation’s senior director of consumer scientific innovation before progressing to the vice president of consumer venture investments and external innovation in 2016. She has held her current position as head of Johnson & Johnson Innovation for four years.

Feld was the managing member for a year at Amity Innovation Advisers, a business consulting firm, and was the partner of investment firm Physic Ventures for another five years. She was an associate director of business development at Genetech between 2004 and 2008.

Feld was awarded the GCV Rising Stars Award in 2018. She studied sociology at the University of Pennsylvania for her bachelor’s degree.

Blair Georgakas

Investment manager
Applied Ventures
Based in San Francisco, California

Blair Georgakas is the investment manager at Applied Ventures, the corporate venture fund of US-based manufacturing company Applied Materials.

Applied Ventures was founded in 2001 and invests in companies focusing on advanced materials, energy conservation and semiconductor technology. The firm has invested in over 130 startups, with 27 currently in its portfolio including Adaptive3D, a premium additive manufacturer that has raised $5.1m over three funding rounds.

Georgakas has been the investment manager at Applied Ventures for four years. She previously spent three years at US-based industrial machinery manufacturer Shapeways as the senior product manager of materials and technology, and was the product manager of 3D printing materials. Georgakas worked for three years at defense and space manufacturing company Northrop Grumman as a materials and process engineer.

Vivian Golfin

Senior associate
Intuitive Ventures
Based in San Francisco, California

Vivian Golfin is the senior associate at Intuitive Ventures, the corporate venture arm of Intuitive Surgical, a US-based medical device manufacturer.

Founded in 2020, Intuitive Ventures invests in IT and healthcare sectors focusing on precision diagnostics, focal therapeutics and digital ecosystems. The fund has invested in 11 companies and has eight in its portfolio including KelaHealth, a US-based operator of a predictive analytics platform that reduces surgical complications. It raised $12.9m in a combined seed and series A round.

Other notable investments include Medcrypt, a proactive security platform for medical devices, and Neocis, a developer of robot-assisted surgery devices for dentists.

Golfin began at Intuitive Ventures two years ago as an associate, before progressing to her current position in 2022. She spent a year as the senior manager for digital and technology at Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, a US-based law firm.

Golfin worked for educational institutions for nearly 10 years, serving as the life science technology innovation scientist at Stanford University, and co-director of BESTT innovation master’s of science programme at the University of Strasbourg.

Katherine He

Investment associate
TDK Ventures
Based in San Jose, California

Katherine He is the investment associate at TDK Ventures, the venture arm of Japan-based multinational electronics corporation TDK.

TDK Ventures was founded in 2019 and invests in startups specialising in materials, energy and mobility sectors. TDK Ventures has 28 companies in its portfolio, such as China-based sustainable air transportation developer Autoflight which raised $100m in a series A round in 2021.

The firm has also invested in 43 other startups including Divirod, Novalith and Fabric8Labs.

He joined TDK Ventures in 2021 as a summer associate and also served as the investment analyst for the firm before accepting her current position in June of this year. Before joining TDK Ventures, He was co-founder of Volta Foundation, a battery ecosystem nonprofit organisation, for three years, and was the senior engineer in the energy storage division at Nanoramic Laboratories.

Janey Hoe

Vice president of corporate development
Cisco Investment
Based in San Jose, California

Janey Hoe is the vice president of corporate development at Cisco Investment, the corporate venture arm of US-based digital communications company Cisco.

Founded in 1993, Cisco Investments invests in early stage companies in data, IoT and security. The firm has invested in over 470 startups and has 99 companies in its portfolio including digital forensics and investigation platform Binalyze, which raised $19m in 2023.

Hoe is a company veteran at Cisco, having started as the director of business development in 1998. Since then, she has held various positions such as senior director of product management and technical marketing, before accepting her current position in 2013.

Prior to this, she served two years as a management consultant at the business consulting and services company McKinsey & Company. Hoe was also a research associate for six years at AT&T Bell Labs where she designed and implemented handoff metrics for mobile communications.

Sasha Kantor

Project manager
BMW i Ventures
Based in San Francisco, California

Sasha Kantor is the project manager at BMW i Ventures, the corporate venture unit of Germany-based luxury car manufacturer BMW Group.

Founded in 2011, the firm invests in hardware, software and manufacturing services in the transportation and sustainability sectors. BMW i Ventures has 54 companies in its portfolio and has invested in close to 130 startups.

Notable investments include US-based machine vision software manufacturer Alitheon, which raised $10m in a series A round in 2022, and US-based transformative battery technology developer Our Next Energy, which raised $300m in a series B round this year.

Kantor has been the project manager for BMW i Ventures for a year. Before this, she spent a year as an executive administrative assistant at Block and was an executive assistant at Facebook for a year.

Kantor has a bachelor’s degree in applied economics from the University of San Francisco.

Cagla Kaymaz

Vice president
Citi Ventures
Based in San Francisco, California

Cagla Kaymaz is the vice president of Citi Ventures, the corporate venture arm of US-based investment banking company Citigroup.

Based in San Francisco, Citi Ventures was founded in 2008. The firm invests in seed to later stage startups in the financial and IT sectors. Citi Ventures typically focuses its investments in the US and the Americas.

Citi Ventures has 113 companies in its portfolio and has invested in more than 240 businesses including Unlimited Funds, a provider of alternate investment strategies, and PayJoy, a provider of consumer financing services.

The corporate venture arm has also had 65 company exits, its most notable being neobanking platform Digit, which was acquired by Oportun for $211m in 2021.

Kaymaz has held her position at Citi Ventures since 2022. She focuses on enterprise tech investments.

Kaymaz worked for Microsoft where she held positions such as product manager and software development engineer. She also founded a SaaS-enabled marketplace petcare startup called PetterPaws and is the company’s CEO.

Sila Kiliccote

Breakthrough Energy Ventures
Partner
Based in San Francisco, California

Sila Kiliccote is a partner at Breakthrough Energy Ventures, the corporate venture unit of Bill Gates-founded investment firm Breakthrough Energy.

Founded in 2016, the impact fund invests in seed to later-stage companies in environmental services and cleantech. Breakthrough Energy Ventures has invested in 186 companies and has 113 startups in its portfolio.

Kiliccote has worked at Breakthrough Energy Ventures for more than two years. She is a board member for several startups including C16 Biosciences, Terabase Energy and Conduit Tech.

Before joining Breakthrough Energy, Kiliccote cofounded transportation company eIQ Mobility and was the chief executive for two years. She also spent nearly 10 years at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory where she was a research scientist and senior scientific engineering association and programme manager.

Christina Ku

Director
NTT Docomo Ventures
Based in San Francisco, California

Christina Ku is a director at NTT Group’s corporate venture arm, NTT Docomo Ventures.

NTT Group is a $1.23bn telecommunications company headquartered in Japan. It is the third largest publicly traded company in the country.

Founded in 2008, NTT Docomo Ventures invests in companies focusing on cloud services, battery power and security authentication in Japan, the US, Europe and Israel. The firm has more than 100 companies in its portfolio and has invested in 212 startups including operator of subscription camera equipment Goopass, which raised $1.94m in a series C round in 2023.

Ku has held her position at NTT Docomo Ventures for six years. She previously worked as the director of investments and business development at Docomo Innovations in 2013.

Prior to this, Ku spent two years at Vodafone working in the incubation and ventures department. She also spent another two years as the vice president of Diligence at TriplePoint Capital.

Tanvi Lal

Senior associate
Intuit Ventures
Based in San Francisco, California

Tanvi Lal is a senior associate at Intuit Ventures, the corporate venture arm of US-based software company Intuit.

Intuit Ventures was founded in 2021 and invests in early to mid-stage startups in fintech, virtual expertise, consumer finance and omnichannel commerce. The company has eight startups in its portfolio including CoinTracker, Drata and Vestwell.

Lal began working for Intuit Ventures nine months ago. She also is co-CEO of VC Unleashed, a non-profit venture capital firm.

She spent nearly a year as a senior consultant at Deloitte and was an MBA associate for a year at Concrete Rose Capital, a US-based venture capital firm investing in underrepresented consumers.

Yvonne Lutsch

Investment principal
Bosch Ventures
Based in Sunnyvale, California

Yvonne Lutsch is an investment principal at Bosch Group’s corporate venture arm, Bosch Ventures.

Bosch Group is a Germany-based, $96.2bn corporation that supplies technology and services worldwide.

Founded in 2007, Bosch Ventures invests in IT, energy, healthcare and 3D printing startups that are based in the US, Europe, Israel and China. The fund has 62 companies in its portfolio and has invested in more than 160 startups such as Jetcool, Pico MES and Autocore.

Lutsch began working for Bosch in Germany in 2022. Her first position was team manager of quality management and methods for Bosch Automotive Electronics. She was also director of technology scouting. In 2018, she moved to the US to join Bosch Ventures.

She has a Master’s in physics at Universität Siegen and also attended the University of Tübingen.

Alice Ly

Vice president
Alexandria Venture Investments
Based in Seattle, Washington

Alice Ly is vice president of Alexandria Real Estate Equities corporate venture capital firm, Alexandria Venture Investments.

Alexandria Real Estate Equities is a $18.3bn real estate investment trust company based in California.

Founded in 1996, Alexandria Venture Investments invests in seed to growth stage companies operating in healthcare, life sciences and agrifood technology. The unit has 154 startups in its portfolio and has made more than 300 investments, including disease modifying therapies manufacturer Mozart Therapeutics, which raised $25m in a recent series A round.

Ly began at Alexandria Real Estate Equities in 2018 working in its subsidiary company Alexandria LaunchLabs as the unit site head based in Massachusetts and in Washington. In 2020 she became the principal of Alexandria Venture Investments before accepting her current position in 2022.

Before joining Alexandria Real Estate Equities, she worked at several universities including Harvard University’s educational collaborative, Harvard Innovation Labs, where she was the programme director of life sciences and healthcare associate director for five years. She also spent seven years at Yale University as a McDougal Fellow and associate director of postdoctoral affairs.

Kelli Marks

Senior project manager
Path Ahead Ventures
Based in Boulder, Colorado

Kelli Marks is a senior project manager at Path Ahead Ventures, the corporate venture unit of US recreational equipment manufacturer and retailer REI.

Path Ahead Ventures is based in Seattle, Washington, and invests in outdoor products and services sectors. The firm has six companies in its portfolio, including US-based outdoor adventure and survival gear maker Outdoor Element and Canada-based online shopping platform Alder Apparel.

Marks has been Path Ahead Ventures’ senior project manager for nearly two years. Before that she spent nine years at US-based technology corporation IBM where she held various positions such as managing consultant of transformation and operations strategy, and senior managing consultant for the distribution sector and global business services.

Marks has a Bachelor of Science in learning and organisational change from North Western University.

Cynthia McKee

Manager
Amgen Ventures
Based in Los Angeles, California

Cynthia McKee is a manager at Amgen Ventures, the corporate venture fund of US-based biopharmaceutical company Amgen.

Amgen Ventures was formed in 2004 and invests in startups operating in healthcare, life sciences and health technology sectors in Europe and North America. The company has 28 companies in its portfolio and has invested in 112 startups including Israel-based urine analysis sensor developer Olive Diagnostic.

The fund has had 51 exits, most notably Inversago, a Canada-based developer of weight loss drugs, which was acquired by Novo Nordisk in 2023 for $1bn.

McKee began her stint at Amgen in February 2022 starting as a senior associate for licensing and business development external research and development. She then progressed to her current position eight months later.

McKee previously spent six years as a graduate student researcher at the University of California, Los Angeles, and spent another three years at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, where she was a student researcher and STEM tutor.

Kate Niedermeyer

Principal of CVC and innovation
Amazon Web Services
Based in Camas, Washington

Kate Niedermeyer is a principal at CVC and Innovation at Amazon Web Services (AWS) Startups, the corporate venturing subsidiary of Amazon. 

Established in 2008, AWS Startups invests in IT startups focused on artificial intelligence, healthcare technology and disruptive technologies. Notable investments include Hurone AI, a US-based AI cancer treatment provider which raised undisclosed financing in 2022. 

AWS is an $80bn company that provides on-demand cloud computing platforms to support data centres globally. This year AWS announced the creation of a 10-week programme for generative AI startups that will grant the accepted candidates $300,000 in AWS credits to build their companies.

Niedermeyer joined AWS Startups in 2022. She partnera with startups and corporate innovation groups to accelerate AWS’s digital transformation. She was also the innovation director and entrepreneur for Nike’s Variant Labs for five years and was the strategic business development manager for Intel’s new business initiatives division.

Anna Patterson

Founder and managing partner
Gradient Ventures
Based in Palo Alto, California

Anna Patterson is the founder and managing partner of Gradient Ventures, the corporate venture arm of US-based conglomerate Alphabet.

Patterson will act as the managing partner until the end of 2023. She announced her retirement in November.

Founded in 2017, Gradient Ventures invests in seed to early-stage companies focusing on IT, machine learning and AI sectors. The firm has 118 companies in its portfolio and has invested in 217 startups, including US-based AI applications development platform LastMile AI, which closed $10m in a seed round in September 2023.

Patterson has held her position at Gradient Ventures for seven years. Whilst serving as the managing partner, Patterson has also been acting as Google’s vice president of engineering, a position she has held for 14 years.

She joined Google in 2004 and was the director of engineering for three years. Her time at Alphabet has allowed her to act as a board member for several startups such as Labelbox, Dundrite Corporation and unitQ.

Patterson was listed on GCV’s Powerlist in 2019. She has a doctorate in computer science from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

Shruti Ramachandran

Corporate development, innovation and ventures
Visa
Based in San Francisco, California

Shruti Ramachandran is the head of corporate development, innovation and ventures at US-based multinational credit card services corporation Visa.

Visa has launched several corporate funds including Visa Ventures, which was founded in 2011. Visa Ventures invests in early-stage innovative payments, fintech and technology companies.

The firm has 38 companies in its portfolio and has invested in 66 startups including Online Pajak, Jumo and Basiq.

Visa Ventures had 16 exits. The most recent is SecureKey, a Canada-based identity and authentic services platform, which was acquired by Avast in 2022.

Ramachandran has held her position at Visa for over a year. Before joining Visa, she spent five years at global investment management firm Barings where she an associate director and investment executive.

Gayathri Radhakrishnan

Partner
Hitachi Ventures
Based in San Francisco, California

Gayathri Radhakrishnan is a partner at Hitachi Ventures, the corporate venture subsidiary of Japan-based multinational conglomerate Hitachi.

Launched in 2019, Hitachi Ventures invests in healthcare, environmental technologies and the future of social businesses. The firm supports startups in Europe, Israel and North America.

Hitachi Ventures has 19 companies in its portfolio. It has invested in 26 startups including Germany-based data management software platform Makersite, which raised $18m in 2022, and US-based battery resources technology developer Ascend Elements, which raised $542m in 2023.

Radhakrishnan moved to Hitachi Ventures in March 2023. As a corporate venturing veteran, she spent four years as the senior director of venture capital at Micron Technology. Radhakrishnan also was the director of strategy and corporate development at Dell Software, a sister company of US-based technology company Dell.

Radhakrishnan spent three years as a venture partner of Impact Venture Capital and was an associate at Earlybird Venture Capital.

Radhakrishnan has won several awards at GCV. She was in the 2021’s Rising Stars list and was also an Emerging Leader in 2023.

Shelly Rao

Principal of venture investment and corporate development
Juniper Ventures
Based in Sunnyvale, California

Shelly Rao is the principal of venture investment and corporate development at Juniper Ventures, the corporate venture unit of US-based networking hardware company Juniper Networks.

Juniper Ventures was founded in 2010 and invests in early-stage technology companies. The fund has four companies in its portfolio such as US-based secure network infrastructure company IoTium and US-based orchestration platform for edge applications Zededa.

Juniper Ventures has invested in 24 startups, including cloud computing edge platform Stackpath, which raised $396m.

Rao has been the principal of Juniper Ventures for three years, focusing on cybersecurity, cloud services and quantum computing investments.

Before joining Juniper Networks, she spent two years at Kepler Communications where she the head and director of finance. Rao spent two years at CIBC Capital Markets where she worked on mergers and acquisitions.

Rao has a Bachelor’s degree in mathematics and finance at McGill University and also attended Waseda University.

Jane Rho

Director of Fund
Davita Venture Group
Based in Denver, Colorado

Jane Rho is the director of funds at Davita Venture Group, the corporate venture arm of US dialysis services provider DaVita.

Davita Venture Group was founded in 2020 and seeks to make minority investments in early to later stage startups focusing on healthcare devices, healthcare services and pharmaceutical sectors. The firm has eight companies in its portfolio and has invested in more than 10 startups, including Pathalys Pharma which raised $150m in January 2023.

Rho has been the director of DaVita Venture Group’s fund for a year. She makes investments in early-stage digital health and diagnostic companies. She joined DaVita Venture Group as an investor in 2020 and was a board observer for several startups including WSellth, Vynca and SameSky Health.

Rho spent three years at Bain & Company where she was a senior associate consultant. She also worked for J.P Morgan in its investment banking division.

Bonnie Rosen

General manager
Disney Accelerator
Based in Los Angeles, California

Bonnie Rosen is the general manager at Disney Accelerator, the corporate venture fund of US-based mass media conglomerate The Walt Disney Company.

Disney Accelerator was established in 2014 and selects entertainment and media product startups that will gain access to The Walt Disney Company’s creative expertise and resources. The fund has 37 startups in its portfolio and has invested in 68 other companies, including Sweden-based mobile live video technology provider Bambuser, which secured $45m in 2020, and airborne tactical platform Red 6, which raised $70m in a series B round in 2023.

Rosen has been the fund’s general manager for more than three years and has overseen investments in Inworld, Obsess and Illumix.

Rosen was the programme manager for Techstars’s Space Accelerator for two years. She also founded a consultancy company, Bonnie Rosen Consulting, in 2016.

Rosen was at Viacom, an entertainment company, for six years. She was the executive director of business development and sales, and senior counsel of business and legal affairs.

Adity Sharma

Principal
Honda Xcelerator Ventures
Based in San Francisco, California

Adity Sharma is a principal at Honda Xcelerator Ventures, an investment arm of Japan’s automobile corporation Honda Motor Company.

Founded in 2015, Honda Xcelerator Ventures invests in carbon neutrality, mobility, robotics and manufacturing startups. The firm has four companies in its portfolio including developer of pupillary reaction analysis systems Natsume Research Institute and developer of optical technology Dynaoptics.

Sharma has been a part of Honda Xcelerator Ventures for six years. She started as the venture manager before accepting her current position in 2022.

She spent three years at The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company as the business lead and product manager. She also spent two years at JumpStart, a venture capital firm, as an innovation consultant and investment analyst.

Michelle Snyder

Partner
McKesson Ventures
Based in San Francisco, California

Michelle Snyder is a partner of McKesson Ventures, the corporate venture unit of US-based pharmaceutical distributor McKesson.

McKesson Ventures was launched in 2014 and invests in startups in the healthcare industry focusing on digital health and pharmacy-based technology. The fund has 27 startups in its portfolio and has invested in close to 70 companies, including US-based healthcare data analysis platform Koneksa, which raised $45m in a series C round in 2022, and US-based hybrid clinical trials provider Lightship, which raised $40m in 2021.

Snyder has been McKesson Ventures partner for three years. Before joining McKesson, she spent seven years at paediatric vision screener GoCheck Kids as a board observer and member of board of directors. She also spent six years as a chief marketing officer at Welltok, a consumer wellness and fitness platform.

Erin Storck

Senior analyst
Elysian Park Ventures
Based in Los Angeles, California

Erin Storck is a senior analyst at Elysian Park Ventures, the corporate investment arm of US baseball team Los Angeles Dodgers.

Founded in 2014, Elysian Park Ventures invests in sports, technology and entertainment companies. The firm has invested in 105 companies and has 66 companies in its portfolio, including Arena, a portable smart gym, and sports technology company for young baseball players Diamon Kinetics.

Storck began at Elysian Park Ventures in 2019 as an analyst before progressing to her current position in 2022. She is also a member of several sports and venture capital community groups, such as Women in Sports and Events (WISE) and Global Women in VC.

Before joining Elysian Park Ventures, Storck spent three years at Sacred Heart University as a Nike Basketball Coach and instructor.

Laela Sturdy

Managing partner
CapitalG
Based in San Francisco, California

Laela Sturdy is managing partner at CapitalG, a corporate venture fund of US-based conglomerate Alphabet.

Founded in 2013, CapitalG invests in later-stage and growth equity investments in technology companies. CapitalG has more than 40 companies in its portfolio and has invested in over 130 startups, such as web-based financial search engine Alphasense and accounting and business management software developer TeamSystem.

Sturdy has been CapitalG’s managing partner for more than 10 years. She been the board observer for several companies, including Duolingo and Credit Karma. She has worked at Alphabet since 2007, starting out as a managing director at Google.

Sturdy was the case team leader for two years at Bain & Company and was the director for a year at Amnesty International’s Art of Amnesty division.

Varsha Tagare

Managing director
Qualcomm Ventures
Based in Santa Clara, California

Varsha Tagare is the managing director of Qualcomm’s corporate venture arm, Qualcomm Ventures.

Qualcomm is a $143.6bn US-based manufacturer of semiconductors and wireless technologies.

Founded in 2004, Qualcomm Ventures invests in seed to later stage companies operating in automotive, IT and cloud services. The fund has more than 150 active companies in its portfolio and has invested in over 630 startups, such as TabNine, Kneron and Cobli.

Tagare joined Qualcomm Ventures in 2013. She started as the firm’s senior director working in Mumbai. She later moved to San Francisco to work as Qualcomm Ventures’ managing director. She has been the board observer and investor for several startups including Zuddl and Shadowfax.

Tagare was a director at Intel Capital, the corporate venture arm of Intel, for eight years. She also worked as a technical marketing manager and design engineering manager at Intel Corporation for ten years.

Vivian Tang

Investment associate
Experian Ventures
Based in Orange County, California

Vivian Tang is an investment associate at Experian Ventures, the corporate venture fund of data analytics and consumer credit reporting company Experian.

Founded in 2016, Experian Ventures invests in early stage technology companies. The firm has 26 companies in its portfolio and has invested in 54 startups such as AI-enabled cloud-based marketing automation company Micronotes, which raised $7.5m in a series C round in August 2023.

Tang has worked for Experian Ventures for two years. Before joining the CVC she spent four years at Payden & Rygel, an investment management company, where she worked in portfolio operations.

Katie Thiry

Managing director
Salesforce Ventures
Based in San Francisco, California

Katie Thiry is a managing director at Salesforce Ventures, the corporate venture fund of US-based cloud software company Salesforce.

Founded in 2009, Salesforce Ventures invests in startups focusing on cloud-based technologies and IT development. The firm has invested in close to 900 startups and has 340 companies in its portfolio, including health and coaching startup Betterup, which raised $300m in a series E round in 2021.

Thiry has held her current position for more than three years. Before joining Salesforce she was a venture capital investor at Sapphire Ventures and spent two years as a venture capital investor at Crosslink Capital.

Thiry has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Politics from Princeton University and a masters degree from Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management.

Christina Tsai

Senior associate
Touchdown Ventures
Based in Los Angeles, California

Christina Tsai is the senior associate of Touchdown Ventures, a US CVC-as-a-service firm.

Touchdown Ventures partners with corporations to invest in early and growth-stage companies in the US, Asia, Europe, South America and Israel. Founded in 2014, the firm invests in a range of sectors including, consumer services, manufacturing and cybersecurity.

The fund has 87 companies in its portfolio and has invested in more than 109 startups such as Valid8 Financial, Debut and DetraPel.

Touchdown Ventures has had 18 exits, most notably US-based global media company Team Whistle, which was acquired by Dazn Group in 2021.

Tsai became Touchdown’s senior associate in June 2023. She initially started off as the firm’s MBA intern in 2022.

She spent a year as a senior account executive at Yelp and was also the senior creative agent at Creative People for over two years.

Bijal Vasant

Investment manager
Wipro Ventures
Based in Mountain View, California

Bijal Vasant is the investment manager of Wipro Ventures, the corporate venture arm of Wipro, an India-based IT corporation.

Founded in 2015, Wipro Ventures invests in early to mid-stage companies focusing on IT sectors such as enterprise software and cybersecurity. The firm has invested in 49 companies including US-based business automation software developer Kognitos, which raised $20m in a series A round, and language platform developer Lilt, which raised $55m in a series C round in 2022.

Born in India, Vasant joined Wipro in February 2023. She was the M&A lead at ABM Knowledgeware for two years and an investor at L Catteron for another two years.

Phoebe Wang

Investment partner
Amazon Climate Pledge Fund
Based in San Francisco, California

Pheobe Wang is the investment partner at Amazon’s Climate Pledge Fund, an investment arm of Amazon.

Founded in 2020, The Climate Pledge Fund is a $2bn venture investment programme that supports startups advancing sustainable technologies and services which allow Amazon to meet its net-zero carbon goal. The fund invests in logistics, commercial transport, energy and agricultural sectors that impact the climate.

The Climate Pledge Fund has four companies in its portfolio including US-based carbon-negative cement maker Brimstone, which raised $55m in 2021, and US-based ammonia-to-power system energy provider Amogy, which raised $139m in a series B round in March this year.

Wang has an extensive background in corporate investment. She accepted her current position in 2022, and alongside this is a figurehead for many financial boards such as Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation, where she serves as the global young leader delegate. She is also on the Global Industry Sustainability Council as a board member at Global Corporate Venturing.

Wang was an investment director at Shell Ventures for three years and was also a principal of BP Ventures for two years.

She spent three years as a senior associate at $500m growth fund Oak Forest Ventures. She founded and was CEO of peer-to-peer childcare services provider Carednd for more than a year.

In addition, Wang attended Harvard University where she studied negotiation and leadership. She also acquired a Bachelor’s degree in material science and engineering at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

Tiffine Wang

Partner
MS&AD Ventures
Based in San Francisco, California

Tiffine Wang is a partner at MS&AD Ventures, the corporate venture fund of Japan-based insurance company MS&AD Insurance Group Holdings.

Founded in 2018, MS&AD Ventures invests in seed to later stage companies focusing on IT, AI, insurance technology and transportation. The firm has 84 companies in its portfolio and has invested in 131 startups including Meanwhile, a Bermuda-based AI bitcoin insurance platform which raised $19m in a seed round in June 2023, and Poko, a Singapore-based global payments developer for web3 gaming, which raised $4.5m in a seed round in June this year.

Wang has held her current position for four years. She was previously the senior investment manager for two years at Singtel Innov8, the corporate venture fund of telecommunications corporation Singtel Group. Wang was also the head of the mentoring programme at Europe Innovation Academy for a year, and was the programme manager for the HACKcelerator, an accelerator run by AngelHack.

Rebecca Woodcock

Principal
Yamaha Motor Ventures
Based in San Francisco, California

Rebecca Woodcock is the principal at Yamaha Motor Ventures, the corporate venture unit of Japan-based mobility manufacturer Yamaha Motor Company.

Launched in 2015, Yamaha Motor Ventures invests in early-stage startups in mobility, robotics, IT and sustainability sectors. The fund has invested in 47 companies and has 29 startups in its portfolio including Veo Robotics, Shippeo and VergeAg.

Woodcock has been the principal at Yamaha Motor Ventures for over four years. She is the board observer for several startups including Goodpath and C. Light Technologies.

Woodcock spent six years at 500 Startups as a mentor and venture partner. She spent two years as a mentor at Commonwealth Ventures. She founded healthcare web app provider CakeHealth in 2011.

Carly Xiao

Investment director
Zeon Ventures
Based in San Francisco, California

Carly Xiao is the investment director of Zeon Ventures, the corporate venture subsidiary of Japan-based chemicals company Zeon Corporation.

Zeon Ventures was formed in 2022 and invests in materials, sustainability, climate and healthcare sectors. The firm has five companies in its portfolio, such as AM Batteries, a US-based manufacturer of Li-ion batteries, and US-based operator of carbon-negative sustainable chemicals Visolis.

Xiao has been Zeon Ventures’ investment director for more than two years. Before that she was an investment lead at Hyundai Mobis, a subsidiary of South Korea-based automobile corporation Hyundai Motor Group. She spent four years as the US investment lead at Midea Group, a Fortune 500 Company, and was the investment manager at Foxlink between 2014 and 2017.

Amber Yang

Investor
Bloomberg Beta
Based in San Francisco, California

Amber Yang is an investor at Bloomberg Beta, the corporate venture arm of business and financial information news platform Bloomberg.

Founded in 2013, Bloomberg Beta invests in content discovery, cybersecurity and media distribution startups. The firm has 154 companies in its portfolio and has invested in close to 360 startups, including US-based enterprise-ready generative AI platform Yurts, which raised $16m in a series A round this year.

Yang began working at Bloomberg Beta in 2022. Before joining the CVC, she founded Seer Tracking, a creator of safer orbital debris environmental technology. She spent three years as a partner at Dorm Room Fund, a student-focused venture capital fund.

Yang attended Stanford University where she acquired a master’s in computer science.

Michelle Zhou Li

Investment manager
Hyundai Cradle
Based in Mountain View, California

Michelle Zhou Li is the investment manager of Hyundai Motor Company’s corporate venture arm, Hyundai Cradle.

Hyundai Motor Company is a $19bn South Korean automotive manufacturer. Its vehicles are sold in 193 countries and the company is the third world’s largest carmaker in terms of production.

Launched in 2017, Hyundai Cradle invests in companies that disrupt the mobility sector. The fund has 30 companies in its portfolio and has invested in 57 startups such as Sontus, Ottopia and Arbe Robotics.

Hyundai Cradle has had 22 exits, including South Korea-based AR technology company Maxst, which exited via IPO on KOSDAQ, an independent stock market of the Korea Exchange, in 2021.

Li has held her position at Hyundai Cradle for four years. She previously worked in venture capital at Pegasus Tech Ventures. Li was a board member and managing director of Marco Hoffman for a year and was a sales manager at A.H. Lundberg Systems between 2016 and 2017.