Phoenix Venture Partners LLC (PVP)

PVP (Phoenix Venture Partners) is a venture capital firm that specializes in taking transformative technologies from proof-of-concept to commercialization in the market place. We focus on advanced materials, novel devices, innovative manufacturing processes, and state-of-the-art tools that have the potential to catalyze the next wave of products, redefine markets and create a sustainable world.

We invest in groundbreaking companies (early to revenue-stage) focusing on the biggest pain points in computing, electronics, transportation, energy, industrial, and life sciences. Our investment philosophy is based on a proven model of providing entrepreneurs with hands-on assistance in business development, IP strategy, financing, recruitment and exit planning as well as unprecedented access to a global network of Strategic Partners.

Our team of seasoned founders, operators, and scientists has extensive experience across many industries. If you’re a passionate entrepreneur with a breakthrough innovation and the determination necessary to succeed, we are committed to helping you and your team achieve your vision. If you would like to work with us, please contact us.

Our Team

We’ve been entrepreneurs. We understand that teams are the most important ingredient to the success of every start-up. Meet our interdisciplinary team.

John T. Chen, PhD Managing General Partner

Dr. Chen is Managing General Partner and Co-founder of Phoenix Venture Partners (PVP). He led or co-led the firm’s investments in and served on the boards of Senova Systems (acquired), Vixar (acquired by OSRAM), NBD Nano (acquired by Henkel), Imprint Energy (acquired by CCL), Sionic Energy, Furcifer Inc., Chromation, Amber Molecular, and Inkbit. He is also a board member of L7 Informatics.

He brings over 30 years of experience in venture capital, start-ups, industry, and R&D. Prior to co-founding PVP, Dr. Chen was a Kauffman Fellow at Battery Ventures, where he formulated Battery’s Advanced Materials investment strategy, sourced over 1,200 investment opportunities, led and managed several investments with applications in IT and CleanTech, e.g., Lion Cells, Stonybrook Purification and Nanoconduction (acquired), and managed several of the firm’s corporate partnerships. Dr. Chen began his venture capital career at DFJ New England and Navigator Technology Ventures in Boston. Prior to becoming a venture capitalist, Dr. Chen held leadership roles in business, technology, and product development at several startups and leading corporations in the Advanced Materials sector, including Luminus Devices, EM Logix, Surface Logix, and Raychem (acquired). He also led Advanced Materials technology scouting and business development in the areas of energy storage, fuel cells, photonics, self-assembly and, more broadly, nanotechnology in the Advanced Technology and Business Development Group at Tyco Electronics, following its acquisition of Raychem.

Dr. Chen earned his BS in Physics, PhD in Materials Science and Engineering, and MBA from MIT. In addition to his investment and board roles with PVP, Dr. Chen serves on the Commercialization Advisory Board for Oregon Built Environment & Sustainability Technologies (BEST), is an active mentor to several startups through the MIT Venture Mentoring Service, and is a long-time member of the Materials Research Society.

Nobuyuki Kambe, PhD Managing General Partner

Dr. Kambe is a General Partner and co-founder of Phoenix Venture Partners (PVP). Dr. Kambe led PVP’s prior investments in C3Nano, Imprint Energy, Sionic Energy (formerly NOHMs Technologies), Tactus Technologies, and NanoQT .

He is a distinguished inventor and serial entrepreneur with deep expertise in 2D materials and nanomaterials. Dr. Kambe has over 50 issued patents and is the founder of three successful startups, Nanogram Devices (acquired), Neophotonics (IPO), and Nanogram Corporation (acquired). Earlier in his career, Dr. Kambe was a Research Manager in semiconductor and carbon nanomaterials and devices at Nippon Telegraph & Telephone (NTT) where he became Senior Manager of New Business Strategy with management oversight of thousands of patents and hundreds of commercialization and R&D partnerships. Dr. Kambe was also a Managing Director at the International Center for Materials Research (ICMR) in Japan and was the founder of ICMR-USA.

He earned his BS and MS from Keio University and his PhD from MIT. Dr. Kambe is a frequent lecturer at the University of Tokyo, Kagawa University, and Keio University, and was a member of the Evaluation Committee for Nanotechnology at AIST, a major national laboratory in Japan. In addition, he serves on the Investment/Innovation Advisory Committee (IAC) for several US non-profit organizations for innovations and climate change challenge, as well as is an advisor for president in university and research laboratories in Japan.

Jiong Ma, PhD General Partner

Dr. Ma is a General Partner of Phoenix Venture Partners (PVP). She manages PVP’s portfolio company: Cotsworks, Figure8, and Nexus Photonics.

Dr. Ma brings over 25 years of diverse experience in investing, building, and scaling global technology companies. Before joining PVP, Dr. Mas was the founder and CEO of Chavant Capital Acquisition Corp., which successfully merged with Mobix Labs (NASDAQ: MOBX). She serves as a Lead Independent Board Director of SES AI Corporation (NYSE: SES), Chairs the Compensation Committee, and is a member of the Audit, Nominating, and Strategic Investment Committee. Dr. Ma also serves as a Chairperson of the Anavex Life Sciences Corporation Board (Nasdaq: AVXL).

Dr. Ma served as a Partner and a member of the investment committee at Braemar Energy Ventures, leading investments in resource efficiency, e-mobility, industrial digitalization, power, and infra-tech. Previously, Dr. Ma was an investment professional at 3i, a global private equity firm, where she led investments in technology & media, digital health, and cleantech. Prior to 3i, she held several senior positions at Lucent Technologies and Bell Labs, responsible for product portfolio strategy, new product launches, and research and product development. Earlier still, she was a founding team member of Onetta, a fiber networks company.

Dr. Ma holds a PhD in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Colorado at Boulder, an MS in Electrical Engineering from Worchester Polytechnic Institute, and she is also a Kauffman Fellow. In addition, she is a Member of CU Boulder Engineering Advisory Council.

Avinash Kant, PhD Senior Partner

Dr. Kant has been associated with Phoenix Venture Partners (PVP) as an Industry Advisor since 2010 and he joined as a Venture Partner with the firm in 2015. He brings more than 20 years of experience in Wall Street equity research, semiconductor process development and materials R&D. Prior to joining PVP, Dr. Kant worked as a senior equity research analyst at various investment banks, D. A. Davidson & Co., First Albany Capital, Adams Harkness & Hill and SG Cowen Securities. Dr. Kant was very early to recognize the emerging trend in advanced materials. With his strong belief that advanced materials will be the key enablers of leading-edge technology in diverse end markets, Dr. Kant pioneered the Advanced Materials universe of equity research on Wall Street in 2006. His thesis on lasers, composite materials, titanium, batteries, advanced ceramics and semiconductor materials played out extremely well for investors as a significant majority of companies within his coverage universe experienced very strong growth and more than a third of the companies got acquired by larger materials players at premium valuations. Prior to his Wall Street career, Dr. Kant conducted leading edge semiconductor process research and development at companies such as Rockwell Semiconductor Systems and Motorola. Dr. Kant also worked at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. His research in advanced thin films, ceramics and composite materials has been presented extensively in leading international conferences and journals.

Dr. Kant holds a Ph.D. in Materials Science from the School of Engineering and a Management of Technology Certificate from Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley.

Srinivas Rao, PhD Operating Partner

Dr. Srinivas Rao is an industry leader with a distinguished track record of material science technology development and commercialization. Until recently, he was Vice President of Corporate Technology at Flextronics International, Ltd. (NASDAQ: FLEX), a multi-billion dollar, global provider of vertically integrated advanced design and electronics manufacturing services. Earlier in his career, he was Vice President of Technology at Solectron Corporation, where he was responsible for engineering and product development, helping grow the company from $190 million to $22 billion in revenues and from one site to over 70 sites worldwide. Previously, Dr. Rao was a Senior Scientist at Raychem Corporation and held technology management and research positions at Eastman Kodak Research Laboratories and RCA Laboratories, where he received RCA’s Outstanding Achievement Award. He holds numerous patents and is the author of numerous papers and review chapters. He has also held distinguished positions in several technical organizations, including Chair of the Editorial Committee of Surface Mount Technology, Chair of the Electronic Materials Committee at the American Society for Metals, and Chair of the Electronic Manufacturing Services of IEEE’s CPMT. He has also served on the editorial board of the International Society for Hybrid Microelectronics, Future Circuits International, the International Review of Circuit Board Manufacturing Technology, and, in 2005, served on the Blue Ribbon Task Force on Nanotechnology for the State of California.

Dr. Rao is a Distinguished Alumnus of Indian Institute of Technology Madras where he earned a B.Tech degree in Metallurgical Engineering, and an MS and PhD in Metallurgy and Materials Science from the Stevens Institute of Technology.

Sheng Peng, PhD Partner

Dr. Peng is a Partner at PVP. He brings 20 years of unique combination of experiences in academia scientific research, material startup R&D, and corporate venture and corporate innovation. He has covered many technology areas, such as nano and functional materials, processes and equipment, display and consumer electronics, sensing, as well as healthcare consumables and devices. Until recently, he was Director of Technology Scouting and Corporate Innovation at BOE Technology Group, a global leading display manufacturer. He had scouted over 500 opportunities worldwide and facilitated over 15 partnerships and joint programs between internal R&D teams with external corporations and startups. He also performed corporate venture functions early with BOE, as well as portfolio management more recently, including board duties at Nanosys (acquired by Shoei Chemical), an industry leading Quantum Dot company, and the technology of which is already in millions of TVs. Earlier in his career, he was Director of Technology at Innova Dynamics (acquired by TPK), and oversaw various functions including nanomaterial R&D, scale-up and pilot production, toll manufacturing transfer, IP analysis, and supported business activities.

Dr. Peng earned his PhD in Chemistry at Brown University, and was Postdoctoral Appointee at Center for Nanoscale Materials at Argonne National Lab. From his early academic work, he authored and co-authored near 40 research articles, review articles, and book chapters in renowned journals such as Science, PNAS, and Chemical Society Reviews, with over 8,000 citations. He is currently a member of the Society for Information Display.

Jennifer Wang, CFO

Ms. Wang has over 30 years of finance, investment, and operating experience, ranging from investment banking to start-up companies. Ms. Wang has built PVP’s back office since its inception and is responsible for PVP’s fund management, finance, operations, and participates in its investment due diligence and exit committees. In addition to serving as PVP’s CFO, she is also founder and CEO of Course 15 Associates, a CFO consulting company she founded to provide CFO services to venture backed technology companies. Throughout Ms. Wang’s career as a sell side and buy side analyst in Wall Street as well as startup companies’ CFO, she has worked with CEOs in a multitude of industries including chemical and energy, healthcare and hospital management, consumer services, SaaS and search technology, telecommunication and networking, social media and instant messaging platform, aerospace/defense, online video games and mobile advertising networks. Ms. Wang is also a board member of GAMMA Investing, a company in Custom Index SMAs. Prior to her startup experience, Ms. Wang was an executive with Wells Fargo Capital Markets, J.P. Morgan Securities, and Goldman Sachs. Ms. Wang has been a volunteer for MIT Alumni Education Counselor. Ms. Wang earned a Bachelor of Science in Management, Finance & Management of Information Systems from MIT as well as a Masters of Science in Accounting from Boston College Carroll School of Management.

Address: 1700 S. El Camino Real, Suite 355 , San Mateo, CA 94402, USA, USA

Phone: +1 650 349 3467
FAX: +1 650 349 3469
Email: information@phoenix-vp.com