16:40 – 17:20
VC, Investor Network and Start Up Shark Tank Session
Moderator
Davis Auksmuksts
Plug and Play Tech Center
At Plug and Play, Davis lead investments in Fintech & Al startups raising early-stage venture rounds. With a Fintech portfolio of over 235 startups including companies BigID, Blockdaemon, Esusu, Flutterwave, Honey, Trulio, Kustomer, N26, and Tractable, we back founders who are challenging the world today and creating technologies of tomorrow.
Company Profile
Plug and Play is the ultimate innovation platform. Our mission is to build the world’s leading innovation platform and make innovation open to anyone, anywhere. We do this by connecting entrepreneurs, corporations, and investors worldwide.
Over the past 15 years, we have brought together 35,000+ startups, 500+ world-leading corporations, and hundreds of venture capital firms, universities, and government agencies across 20+ industries.
We are active in 50+ locations globally, including the U.S., China, France, Germany, South Africa, Singapore, Indonesia, Brazil, and more.
Together with our partners, we are creating a unique ecosystem designed to facilitate meaningful introductions, invest in startups, and bring together key stakeholders.
The industries we focus on include Agtech, Animal Health, Brand & Retail, Crypto & Digital Assets, Energy, Enterprise, Fintech, Food & Beverage, Health, Insurtech, IoT, Maritime, Media & Ad, Mobility, New Materials & Packaging, Real Estate & Construction, Smart Cities, Supply Chain, Sustainability, and Travel & Hospitality.
Moderator
Henry Huang, Ph.D.
Micron Ventures
Dr. Henry Huang is an investment director with Micron Ventures, the $300 VC arm of the global leader in computer memory and data storage solutions. He focuses on deep-tech startups developing sustainable compute infrastructure and advanced AI/ML software solutions. Prior to Micron, he had led investments in computing and connectivity with TDK Ventures and extensive operational experience with AT&T, NextG Networks (acquired by Crown Castle), Tarana Wireless, and TTS Wireless (acquired by AMDOC). He holds an MBA degree from Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, a Ph.D. degree from University of Missouri-Columbia and a B.S. degree from University of Science and Technology of China (USTC).
Company Profile
Micron Ventures is a $300M venture capital arm of Micron Technology, a global leader in innovative computer memory and data storage solutions. The fund focuses on early-stage deep tech startups that develop sustainable compute infrastructure and advanced AI, ML, and software solutions.
Moderator
Yvonne Lutsch, Ph.D.
Lam Capital
Yvonne joined Lam Capital in October 2024 as Investment Director, bringing over 7 years of venture capital experience from Bosch Ventures USA, where she led investments in deep tech fields like AI, quantum computing, semiconductors, sensors, and industrial technology. She also has 13+ years of operational experience at Bosch, having served in leadership roles across technology scouting, business development, engineering, and manufacturing in both mobility as well as consumer electronics. Yvonne holds a PhD in Applied Physics from University of Tuebingen and a Diploma in Experimental Physics from University of Siegen, both Germany.
Company Profile
Lam Capital invests in innovative companies that are addressing some of today’s most challenging, high-impact problems. From semiconductor subsystems to AI chips and Industry 4.0 technologies, we invest in and partner with startups that are disrupting their respective industries.
Moderator
Blair Georgakas
Applied Ventures
Blair Georgakas joined Applied Ventures in 2019 while pursuing her MBA at UC Berkeley Haas. She has a broad set of interests across deep tech / hardtech verticals and is currently supporting investments in energy storage and additive manufacturing.
Prior to joining Applied Ventures, Blair led the physical product management team for 3D printing start-up, Shapeways, where she led the launch of over 10 new products, managed strategic partnerships with HP, EOS, EnvisionTec, Formlabs, etc, and implemented lean manufacturing methods to reduce cost. Earlier in her career, she also worked for Northrop Grumman as a materials science engineer with responsibilities including R&D of new materials, material characterization, failure analysis, and process optimization.
Blair graduates from UC Berkeley Haas School of Business with an MBA in May 2021. She also holds a master of science degree in engineering and advanced structural materials and a bachelor of science degree in materials science and engineering from UCLA with a technical breadth in mechanical engineering.
Company Profile
Applied Ventures, LLC, is the venture capital arm of Applied Materials, Inc., (NASDAQ: AMAT). Applied Materials is the global leader in materials engineering solutions used to produce virtually every new chip and advanced display in the world. For more than a decade, Applied Ventures has invested in startups that are pioneering innovations in smartphones, augmented and virtual reality, AI, driverless cars, big data, life sciences, 3D printing, robotics, cleantech, and advanced materials. Applied Ventures is stage agnostic and invests up to $100M per year globally. We have invested in over 90 companies across 18 countries.
Moderator
Daniel Armbrust
Silicon Catalyst
Daniel Armbrust is a Silicon Catalyst co-founder, member of the Board of Directors and its initial CEO.
Daniel serves as an advisor, board member, board chairman and angel investor for many semiconductor startups. Daniel is an affiliate with Lawrence Berkeley National Labs and recently was appointed to the Industrial Advisory Committee, which advises the Department of Commerce on the R&D strategy for the CHIPS Act. He served as President and CEO of the SEMATECH semiconductor consortium and held various positions in semiconductor manufacturing and development over 25 years at IBM.
Armbrust earned a bachelor’s degree in ceramic science and engineering from Pennsylvania State University as well as a master’s of science degree in manufacturing systems engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
Company Profile
Silicon Catalyst is the only incubator + accelerator focused on the Global Semiconductor Industry including Chips, Chiplets, Materials, IP and Silicon fabrication-based Photonics, MEMS, Sensors, Life Science and Quantum.
More than 1,200 startup companies worldwide have engaged with Silicon Catalyst and the company has admitted over 100 exciting companies. With a world-class network of mentors to advise startups, Silicon Catalyst is helping new semiconductor companies address the challenges in moving from idea to realization.
The incubator + accelerator supplies startups with access to design tools, silicon devices, networking, and a path to funding, banking and marketing acumen to successfully launch and grow their company’s novel technology solutions. Over the past nine years, the Silicon Catalyst model has been proven to dramatically accelerate a startup’s trajectory while at the same time de-risking the equation for investors.
The Silicon Catalyst Angels was established in July 2019 as a separate organization to provide access to seed and Series A funding for Silicon Catalyst Portfolio Companies.
SiliconCatalyst.UK, a subsidiary of Silicon Catalyst, was selected by the UK government to manage ChipStart UK, an early-stage semiconductor incubator funded by the UK government.
In February of 2024, Silicon Catalyst Ventures (SCV) was launched to fund early-stage startups accepted into the incubator’s two-year program. SCV has already made eleven investments in Silicon Catalyst Portfolio Companies.
More information is available at www.siliconcatalyst.com, www.siliconcatalystangels.com, www.siliconcatalyst.uk, and Silicon Catalyst Ventures www.sicatalystvc.com.
Panelist
Quick Tsai
Amazing Cool Technology Corporation
Quick Tsai (Shiann-Tsong Tsai) received a Bachelor’s degree in Physics in Taiwan and a Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering from Syracuse University in 2001. He began his career at UTAC Taiwan, where he worked for nine years as the R&D and Engineering Department Manager. During this time, he pioneered the pressure oven devoid process in die attachment, which laid the foundation for the widespread application of pressure oven technology in assembly processes today.
In 2011, he joined MediaTek as the Technical Manager for Package Technology, where he worked for thirteen years. He led initiatives in multi-tier Cu wire bonding packaging technology, enhancing the performance, cost reduction, and efficiency of semiconductor devices.
He then moved to Whalechip Technology, serving as a consultant and board member for six years. Whalechip Technology, a TSMC partner, accomplished the world’s first computing device using Wafer on Wafer technology.
Currently, he is the Executive Director at Amazing Cool Technology, where he drives Covetics material innovation and mass production in various areas, including semiconductors. Throughout his career, he has helped companies obtain several patents in numerous area.
Company Profile
ACOOL uses a patented process to produce graphene-modified copper, which is a new material after graphene and copper form a covalent-metallic bond.
Company Products & Services
The world‘s only mass-producible graphene copper material, all properties exceed those of oxygen-free copper, we named ACOOL COPPER, that are transcendent.
It is formed by graphene and copper. It has dozens of excellent characteristics such as improved mechanical properties, electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, corrosion resistance, oxidation resistance, EMI resistance, bending resistance, fusible current resistance, high voltage and low leakage, and low temperature coefficient.
Panelist
Hamid Sadjadpour Ph.D.
Practical OTP Encryption
Hamid Sadjadpour received the Ph.D. degree from University of Southern California. In 1995, he joined the AT&T Shannon Research Laboratory, as a Technical Staff Member and later as a Principal Member of Technical Staff. In 2001, he joined the University of California at Santa Cruz where he is currently a Professor. He has over 240 publications and 25 patents. He is a co-recipient of the best paper awards at the 2007 International Symposium on Performance Evaluation of Computer and Telecommunication Systems, 2008 Military Communications conference, 2010 European Wireless Conference, and 2017 Conference on Cloud and Big Data Computing.
Company Profile
Practical OTP Encryption Inc. was founded by Professor Hamid Sadjadpour from the University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC). The company’s innovative encryption technology stems from extensive research conducted at UCSC with support from the Army Research Office. Practical OTP Encryption specializes in advanced information-theoretic solutions designed to provide corporations, financial institutions, and government organizations with unmatched, unconditional data security. Its mission is to safeguard sensitive information stored in public clouds or transmitted over networks against state adversaries and cybercriminals, even those with unlimited computational resources. Unlike conventional encryption methods, Practical OTP Encryption ensures immunity from future scientific breakthroughs, offering protection against harvest-now-decrypt-later attacks. Its unique solution is highly adaptable, seamlessly integrating with devices of any size, making it an ideal choice for addressing the dynamic challenges of modern cybersecurity. Practical OTP Encryption is committed to redefining data security with its groundbreaking, future-proof technology.
Panelist
Bonnie Tsim, Ph.D.
ATLANT 3D
Dr. Bonnie Tsim is Head of Strategic Initiatives at ATLANT 3D and holds a PhD in Theoretical Physics on the electronic properties of twistronic graphene from the University of Manchester. With expertise across deep-tech strategy, advanced materials, and international ecosystem building, she has led AI strategy and digital transformation at Turner & Townsend and convened global stakeholders in exponential technologies such as quantum and semiconductors at MATTER.
Company Profile
ATLANT 3D has mastered control of matter at the atomic scale, ushering in a new era in manufacturing. For research teams and manufacturers working at the frontiers of technology, we’ve created what was once thought unattainable: a system that builds materials and devices, atom by atom, with unprecedented precision and speed.
While others are constrained by traditional manufacturing limits, our breakthrough technology makes it possible to create the seemingly impossible, from next-generation quantum computers to devices that can operate in the harsh conditions of space. By replacing complex, resource-heavy processes with precise atomic-scale fabrication, we’re transforming technology while making manufacturing sustainable. We’re providing innovative teams the power to build technologies today that will define tomorrow’s world, using fewer resources to achieve greater possibilities.
Based in Copenhagen and London, with operations in the US, ATLANT 3D partners with research institutions and industrial companies to expand the boundaries of technological possibility.
Company Products & Services
ATLANT 3D is redefining microfabrication with its patented Direct Atomic Layer Processing (DALP®) technology. Our NANOFABRICATOR™ platform enables localized atomic layer processing for rapid material discovery, prototyping, and scalable device fabrication—bridging the gap from lab to fab.
Beyond hardware, we offer Pilot Projects and Joint Development Services to validate new materials and device architectures. A-HUB, our Microfabrication-as-a-Service (MaaS) centre, provides R&D teams with atomic-scale precision without the need for costly infrastructure.
From concept to fabrication, ATLANT 3D partners with academia and industry to drive next-generation innovations beyond conventional limits.
Panelist
Masayuki Son
RESOCHI
Masayuki Son is a seasoned professional in the semiconductor, LED, optics, and photonics industries, with a proven track record of driving business growth and innovation. He has developed relationships with 1,000+ clients globally, including brokers and fabs, while managing operations across Shanghai, Taipei, and Hong Kong.
His efforts helped secure a spot at #312 on Inc. magazine’s 2017 Inc. 500 list, and he was recognized with the Money Mover Award in 2021 for closing the highest number of deals out of a 50-person sales team. Masayuki also successfully established a new entity in Shanghai, further expanding the company’s international footprint.
Currently, Masayuki is leading the way in AI-powered automation and global marketplace development to revolutionize how used equipment transactions are managed. He is excited to share insights on leveraging AI to optimize deal flow, inventory management, and customer outreach.
Company Profile
Revolutionizing the Global Used Semiconductor Equipment Marketplace with AI-Powered Automation
RESOCHI is building a cutting-edge AI-powered platform designed to streamline the buying and selling of used semiconductor and lab equipment on a global scale. Our mission is to eliminate inefficiencies in the market by automating workflows for brokers, refurbishers, and fabs, creating a more transparent and faster transaction environment.
Company Products & Services
Panelist
Catherine Liu
Kelvin Cooling
Catherine is the Co-Founder of Kelvin Cooling, which builds high-efficiency nano-film evaporation cooling solutions for data centers. She has a background in data engineering and product development and is passionate about turning advanced thermal technologies into scalable, real-world solutions. Catherine leads business operations, bridging deep-tech innovation with practical execution. She has had the opportunity to collaborate with researchers at UC Berkeley for further test validations. Catherine is deeply driven by sustainability and the need for energy-efficient cooling in next-gen computing. She also works closely with company partners and advisors to support customer discovery, fundraising, and strategic growth.
