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Brad Gillespie

Managing Partner at IA Ventures

Brad Gillespie is a General Partner at IA Ventures, a venture capital firm he helped start in 2010.3 Here are some key details about his background and role:

Professional Experience

  • Managing Partner at IA Ventures (2009 - Present)2
  • Previously worked as Technology Advisor to the CTO at Microsoft (1999 - 2007)2
  • Held an engineering role at Sanders, A Lockheed-Martin Company (1994 - 1997)2

Investment Focus

Brad focuses on early-stage investments, particularly in areas such as:

  • Robotics
  • Data Services
  • BioTech
  • AI
  • Enterprise technology1

His typical investment range is $100K to $5.0M, with a sweet spot around $1.5M.1

Notable Investments

Brad has been involved in seeding over 100 companies, including:

  • Datadog
  • The Trade Desk
  • TransferWise
  • Flatiron Health
  • Komodo Health
  • DataRobot
  • DigitalOcean
  • Recorded Future3

Board Positions

He currently holds or has held board positions at several companies, including:

  • Kepler Communications Inc.
  • Ethyca
  • Canvas Medical
  • Vectra Networks, Inc.
  • Lygos
  • DigitalOcean
  • x.ai (acquired by Bizzabo)2

Education

  • PhD in Electrical Engineering from the University of Washington
  • MS in Electrical Engineering from the University of New Hampshire
  • BS in Electrical Engineering from Clarkson University2

Investment Philosophy

Brad looks for "customer domain experts who have a formidable strategic understanding of, and an ambitious non-obvious take on, a fast growing market".3 He aims to inspire founders to reach for greatness and be a trusted advisor they can turn to for an unbiased perspective.3

Highlights

Apr 19 · Pulse 2.0
Kepler Raises $92 Million To Build The Internet For Space - Pulse 2.0
Kepler Raises $92 Million To Build The Internet For Space - Pulse 2.0
Apr 13 · TechCrunch
Kepler Communications closes $92M Series C to grow real-time satellite data relay network - TechCrunch
Kepler Communications closes $92M Series C to grow real-time satellite data relay network - TechCrun

Related Questions

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How did Brad Gillespie transition from engineering to venture capital?
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Brad Gillespie
Brad Gillespie, photo 1
Brad Gillespie, photo 2
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Experience

Managing Partner at IA Ventures (2009 - Present)
Kepler Communications Inc. (2016 - Present), Ethyca (2021 - Present), Canvas Medical (2019 - Present), Drift (2017 - 2020), DigitalOcean (2013 - 2022), Lygos (2016 - 2022), x.ai [Acquired by Bizzabo] (2014 - 2021), Welcome Software [Acquired by Optimizely] (2010 - 2021), Prelude (2021 - Present), Coiled (2020 - Present), Datapane (2022 - Present), Cobbler (2021 - Present), Rupert. (2021 - Present), Strateos (2019 - Present), DataRobot (2013 - Present), Technology Advisor to the CTO at Microsoft (1999 - 2007), Engineer at Sanders, A Lockheed-Martin Company (1994 - 1997)

Education

PhD in Electrical Engineering from University of Washington, MS in Electrical Engineering from University of New Hampshire, BS in Electrical Engineering from Clarkson University

Location

United States