Tess invests in technology and people who believe as strongly as she does that frontier technology will develop solutions for societal problems. She is a partner based in San Francisco fostering entrepreneurship of frontier technology, specifically the commercialization of space, drones, autonomous vehicles, and defense technology.
Tess has partnered with Black Sheep Foods, Boom Supersonic, DroneDeploy, Iris Automation, Lumachain, Phantom Auto, Rocket Lab, and Spire Global. She was included in Forbes’ 30 Under 30 in Venture Capital. She speaks and is published regularly on Bloomberg, TechCrunch, and other publications on space and frontier technology.
Tess earned a Bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering from the University of Michigan and a Master’s degree in aeronautics and astronautics engineering from Stanford. She went on to work for Boeing and then SpaceX where she worked with the government on integrating its payloads with the Falcon9 rocket. She remains close to her alma mater by co-teaching a class at Stanford, serving on the board of advisors for the Stanford Technology Ventures Program, and founding the Stanford Aero/Astro Alumni Association.
Tess is passionate about space exploration and imagines a future where we all travel to space. She hopes to one day take a trip herself.
“Imagine a future where we travel to space with the same frequency in which we currently travel in an aircraft.”
Black Sheep Foods is a plant-based meat company using revolutionary technology and analytical chemistry to create a delicious lamb alternative that is better for the environment and your health.
Boom Supersonic is redefining commercial flight by bringing supersonic flight to the skies with the world’s fastest airliner.
DroneDeploy is the leading cloud software platform for commercial drones, and is making the power of aerial data accessible and productive for everyone.
Phantom Auto is a remote control-as-a-service safety solution for autonomous vehicles (AVs).
Rocket Lab delivers a range of complete rocket systems and technologies for fast and low-cost payload deployment.
Rocket Lab announced to go public in merger with SPAC Vector Acquisition Corp in March 2021.
Rocket Lab went public in August 2021 (NASDAQ: RKLB).
Spire is a space to cloud data analytics company utilizing satellites to provide maritime, aviation, and weather tracking. Spire Global went public in August 2021 (NYSE: SPIR).
Velo3D develops metal additive manufacturing solutions, including 3D printing systems, print preparation software and integration technology.
Velo3D went public in September 2021 (NYSE: VLD).
