Episode #2: The Innovation Room

Alumni Ventures has recently announced the hiring of Jack Barlow, its first Chief Business Development Officer. With over three decades of experience in investment strategy and alternative assets management, Barlow is a finance industry veteran who has previously served in leadership positions at Blackrock, Blackstone, and Bank of America. In his new role, Barlow will oversee the firm’s expansion into more traditional sources of capital, such as institutions, RIAs, wealth managers, and alternative investment platforms.

According to a report by UBS, it is predicted that by 2035, 80% of individuals will use robotaxis, resulting in a 70% drop in car ownership in urban areas. This finding has caught the attention of AV Venture Capitalist Jack Statza, who has published a report exploring where VCs are investing in self-driving vehicles and why. In his report, Statza examines the technology that makes self-driving cars possible and predicts that this technology will transform how we think about and experience transportation. For those interested in learning more, Statza’s report can be found here.

Italian luxury fashion brand Prada has partnered with Alumni Ventures’ portfolio company Axiom Space, a next-generation aerospace company, to design lunar spacesuits for NASA’s 2025 Artemis III Mission. The collaboration aims to merge high fashion with space exploration, creating stylish spacesuits capable of withstanding the lunar environment. Axiom Space is a portfolio company in Alumni Ventures’ Deep Tech fund, which is focused on investing in entrepreneurial companies solving some of the toughest and potentially most lucrative tech challenges.