Spotlighting Founders With a Berkeley Connection

Matt Caspari is a Managing Partner at Alumni Ventures, where he leads the Deep Tech, Georgetown (Potomac Ventures) and UC Berkeley (Strawberry Creek Ventures) funds. He invests in mission-driven founders developing groundbreaking technologies. His investments encompass a diverse range of sectors, including AI, agriculture, aviation, battery technology, cybersecurity, direct air capture of CO2, energy generation, longevity, and robotics. Prior to Alumni Ventures, Matt gained operational experience as a two-time venture-backed founder/CEO and as a leader of the innovation team at Nike. He was the founding CEO of Aurora Biofuels, a deep tech venture that grew to 100+ employees, secured over $100 million in funding and was acquired by Reliance Industries. In earlier roles, Matt served as a strategic management consultant at Cambridge Pharma Consultancy, later acquired by IMS Health, and gained experience on the M&A team at Bloomberg. He holds a BS in Biochemistry from Georgetown University and an MBA with a Certificate in Entrepreneurship from UC Berkeley.

Carl is a senior principal at Alumni Ventures and Strawberry Creek Ventures and brings more than a decade of experience in venture capital, corporate development/strategy, investment banking, and public equity investments. Previously, Carl was a principal at Solasta Ventures, responsible for enterprise software investments, including the future of work and climate tech. Earlier, Carl led strategic initiatives in creating economic opportunities for freelancers as a director of corporate strategy at Upwork, drove inorganic growth through M&As at Riverbed Technology, and spent time at J.P. Morgan in San Francisco. Hailing from Canada, Carl holds a double degree in Mathematics and Business Administration from the University of Waterloo and Wilfrid Laurier University, respectively, and an MBA from UC Berkeley Haas. Outside of work, Carl is an avid soccer player and a strategic board game geek.