"Yuan-Ping (YP) Huang is a Principal at Applied Ventures where he focuses on the intersection of Life Sciences and semiconductor manufacturing as well as other deep-tech opportunities. He aspires to help accelerate development of next-generation diagnostic and research tools as well as novel therapeutic modalities by bridging capabilities of Applied Materials and emerging biotechnologies from portfolio companies.

Prior to joining Applied Ventures, YP was an early member of Lam Capital, where he built comprehensive proteomics product strategy and led investments in molecular profiling space. He also worked as an associate at McKinsey & Company, where he advised global pharmaceutical clients on R&D and operations.

YP holds a Ph.D. in biomedical sciences from Columbia University as well as an M.S. degree in molecular medicine and a B.S. degree in zoology from National Taiwan University. In his spare time, he enjoys long runs, travel, and casual cooking."

Sophia is Managing Director Rest of World at bp ventures, leading the sourcing of venturing deals in India, Australia, elsewhere in AsPac, the Middle East, and North African markets. She explores new opportunities that support bp’s scaling of advanced mobility, clean energy, and other tech-led business models that accelerate the transition to net zero. Sophia joined bp ventures from bp’s advanced mobility team, having designed the company’s global e-mobility strategy, helping the business to become a leading provider of integrated mobility solutions in the UK, Europe, China, the US and beyond. Sophia holds an MBA from Warwick Business School, a BSc in Physiology from McGill University, and an LLB(Hons) from University College London. Before joining bp, she worked as an innovator and business builder in the global consumer goods and services industry, ran her own award-winning business and qualified as a lawyer and arbitrator. Sophia was recognised as a Global Corporate Venturing Emerging Leader in 2022. She holds non-executive director roles at two Indian startups, BluSmart and Magenta Mobility.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sophianadur/

Mr. Nattawat (Nik) Nirdnoy serves as Cleantech Investment Manager at GC Ventures. His focuses include technologies in the area of Circularity, Sustainable chemistry and Carbon Capture & Utilization where he also served as the investor representative of GC Ventures at Econic Technologies.

Prior to GC, he served large corporate clients in consulting projects across Southeast Asia in areas of Innovation Management, Enterprise risk management, and Digital Transform with global consulting firms.
He holds an M.S. in International Business from the University of Edinburgh and a B.Eng. (International Program) from SIIT, Thammasat University.

Outside of work, Nik enjoys exploring different types of Matcha and Japanese Tea. He always loves to revisit Kansai for that mission.

LinkedIn

https://www.linkedin.com/in/florian-loebermann-26150854/

Robert Ethier is the founding partner of Impact Science Ventures - a unique venture model built to invest in breakthrough scientific innovations that can solve the industry’s hardest problems with disruptive technologies while generating optimal returns.

Robert initiated work on Impact Science Ventures while he was Vice President of Investments at Activate Global where he helped over 50 companies execute fundraising strategies. Activate, a partner of Impact Science Ventures, is a nonprofit funded by DOE, DARPA and others, that helps innovators commercialize transformative energy, material and manufacturing technologies. Started in 2015, Activate has helped create more than 100 companies that have raised over $1 billion.

Before joining Activate, Robert was a consultant focused on special situations in the energy, medical device, defense and consumer product sectors. Projects included funding and business strategies with early-stage startups and carve-outs and turnarounds with mature firms. In the defense space, Robert worked with military members to source solutions for critical issues while utilizing the OTA (other transactional authority) framework.

Prior to consulting with startups, Robert spent 10 years as a buy-side investor managing $2 billion of insurance company assets focused on multiple direct investment strategies for KFBMIC. Robert excelled at identifying long-term global macro economic opportunities and sourcing the best investments to allocate capital within those opportunities, starting with the financial crisis in 2008 and continuing into deep tech in 2016 with many opportunities in between. Because of his strategic thinking and his ability to anticipate new trends, Robert’s portfolio was consistently ranked ahead of peers by outside firms including Goldman Sachs and Blackrock.

Robert is a CFA Charterholder and received his MBA from the Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley. Robert also holds a BBA in Financial Markets and a BA in Accounting from the University of Minnesota, Duluth.

Recognizing the transformative power of technology and innovation, Chelsilia Tanzil has been participating in angel investing from 2020 through crowdfunding platforms and syndicated deals focusing on B2B tech startups.

To support and empower the next generation of entrepreneurs, she joined Lifetime Ventures, a talent-driven pre-seed/seed venture capital in 2022. Over the next two years, she had been contributing in the business development of early-stage portfolio companies that spans healthcare, clean energy, and artificial intelligence.

Since 2024, Chelsilia Tanzil is Country Partner for Japan at Inovexus, a community-based venture capital and accelerator, whose mission is to drive innovation and investment in Japan. Inovexus focuses on identifying startups that not only show strong financial potential but also demonstrate a commitment to sustainability, ethical innovation, and social impact. Her investment philosophy is built on the belief that great companies are driven by those who are committed to solving real-world problems. She enjoys working closely with founders to help them achieve long-term success, which includes providing mentorship, leveraging a vast network of industry contacts, and offering operational expertise.

Outside of her professional work, she is a scuba diving enthusiast, who prefers to spend her days off under water. She holds an MBA degree from Kyoto University and currently lives in Kyoto, Japan.

As a seasoned early-stage venture developer, I am dedicated to enhancing the flow of experience and capital into early-stage innovation. My goal is to be a long-term, strategic partner for entrepreneur-led ventures while fostering a more collaborative mindset between traditional investors and entrepreneurs to pursue ambitious goals.

With over 20 years of experience, I have developed a broad range of expertise across various roles in the startup ecosystem. My journey has taken me from being a startup founder in Sweden to serving as a consultant in Ireland, a banker in Hong Kong, and an investor in the Nordics. Through these diverse roles, I have had the opportunity to advise a wide range of tech companies, from small-scale startups to large-scale enterprises, on critical issues such as fundraising, long-term strategy, service design, and market expansion.

Today, I am channeling my passion and expertise into improving the flow of opportunities and collaboration between Europe and Japan, aiming to unlock the world-class potential of Japanese startups. I believe in the transformative power of innovation, and I am committed to nurturing ventures that can shape the future.

Beyond startups, my interests in long-term transformation extend into areas like gardening and world history, where I find further inspiration for growth and enduring impact.

Takashi Futami is an experienced healthcare investor, entrepreneur and executive. At ANV, Takashi leads the formation of startups based primarily on research emanating from research institutions.
Starting a career as a researcher at Astellas Pharma Inc., he led and managed drug discovery projects, focusing on oncology and metabolic disorders. Takashi then, joined a corporate venture capital fund in Menlo Park/Cambridge and invested in startups.

In 2020, Takashi joined Fast Track Initiative in the key role of overseeing global investment and company creation from academic discoveries via the identification and evaluation of new life science technologies. He was co-founder of reverSASP Therapeutics and other incubating assets based on Japanese academic discoveries.

He is currently a Specially Appointed Professor at Tohoku University, Visiting Professor at Nagoya University, Fellow at Kyoto University, and Fellow at RIKEN. He also serves as a member of the Expert Council for the Global Startup Campus Initiative of the Cabinet Office.

Takashi’s goal is to transform innovations in academia, especially in Japan, into actual products that improve people’s lives and society.

Louis Murayama is a General Partner at Antares Ventures, with a wealth of experience in Japan’s deep-tech sector and the broader Southeast Asian market. Previously, Louis led Real Tech’s expansion into Southeast Asia, founding its subsidiary in 2022. He successfully raised $80M for the fund and managed a portfolio of 16 Series A deep-tech startups, focusing on sectors such as AI, infrastructure, and climate tech. His experience includes building relationships with Japanese corporate LPs and Southeast Asian government entities, and he has played a key role in cross-border investments. Before joining Antares, Louis was involved in AI startups and worked as a strategy consultant and biotechnology researcher. His career, which bridges science and finance, has made him one of the most active early-stage deep-tech investors in Southeast Asia. Louis holds a Master’s degree in Plant Biotechnology from the University of Freiburg, Germany.

Jeff Abbott is a General Partner at Blitzscaling Ventures, where he manages the firm’s international efforts. He is also the CEO of Blitzscaling Academy.

Jeff is also the founder and Chief Organizer of AI Salon, the global community bringing together AI founders and builders, investors and partners to connect and collaborate.

Jeff holds an MIM from Thunderbird School of Global Management.

Richard Youngman is CEO of Cleantech Group and is based in London. He has been with Cleantech Group since 2008 as a Managing Director before becoming CEO in 2016. Richard has more than 20 years’ experience researching cleantech innovation, venture capital markets, and global start-ups. He is a regular keynote speaker at major cleantech events and is the driving force behind the annual Global Cleantech 100, a list of the world’s most promising private cleantech companies.

Before joining Cleantech Group, Richard ran the research team at Library House, which discovered and collected the information about high-growth companies that underpinned that company’s data, analytical, and event services. This followed nine years building a broad-based finance and research background with leading financial institutions such as ABN AMRO, Barclays Capital and BZW in the City of London.

Richard obtained his MBA from Theseus Institute – International Management Institute and his BA from the University of Cambridge.

Wei is a Senior Director of Venture Investments at Johnson&Johnson Innovation- JJDC, Inc. She initiates and manages equity investments in biopharma and medical device, to drive innovation and fuel new and sustainable businesses. Prior to joining JJDC, Wei was a Senior Associate at Illumina Ventures with a focus on genomics-enabled precision medicine including therapeutics, diagnostics, and life science tools. Prior to that, she was the Director of Healthcare Investment and Business Development of BOE Ventures where she focused on VC fund investment, direct investment, and business development opportunities at the intersection of technology and life sciences. Wei was a Co-chair of the Biotech and Genomics Investment Committee of Life Science Angels that invest in seed-stage opportunities in the broad life science industry. Before becoming an investor, Wei was a R&D project lead at NuGEN Technologies (later acquired to become TECAN Genomics).

Wei received her Ph.D. from UCLA in Biological Chemistry and completed her postdoctoral research in the Department of Pathology at Stanford University. She received a Bachelor of Science in Biological Sciences from Peking University, China. She published in top-tier journals including Cell, Nature, Neuron, Nature Review Genetics and served as a reviewer and editorial board member for numerous international biomedical journals. She was a Bronze Medalist of the 12th International Biology Olympiad.

Darren Kimura is a partner at LDV Partners, bringing over three decades of experience in investing, growing and scaling technology start-ups, spanning energy, IT networking, edge computing, and AI. Originally from Hawaii, Darren has made Silicon Valley his home for over 20 years.

He has a unique combination of operational expertise and investment acumen, having served as President and CEO of LiveAction, leading its sale to Insight Partners, where he also worked as a technology strategist, guiding the acquisition and integration of three companies, and conducting due diligence on 26 others. Darren served as President and COO of ZEDEDA, an edge computing company, overseeing its Series C financing at a $400 million post-money valuation. He has also held roles as Managing Partner at Enerdigm Ventures and Partner at Sway Ventures.

Throughout his career, Darren has led Initial Public Offering processes, acquired 13 patents, and served on the board of the State of Hawaii Venture Capital investment firm. He has also been a member of the Dean’s Council at the University of Hawaii College of Engineering and sponsors the Kimura Awards for Clean Energy and Innovations in Computer Science.

Darren holds a BA from the University of Hawaii and is an alumni of the Stanford Graduate School of Business. His accolades include recognition as the U.S. SBA Young Entrepreneur of the Year and the U.S. Department of Commerce Minority Entrepreneur of the Year. He is also an Eagle Scout.

Bill Liao is a Chinese-Australian-Irish entrepreneur, investor and philanthropist who has left an indelible mark on the business and social sectors.
With a diverse career spanning decades, Bill has consistently demonstrated his exceptional leadership skills and forward-thinking mindset.

Co-founder of the CoderDojo movement and of Weforest, his career in tech and business encompasses two unicorn companies and launching the world’s first bio-tech accelerator. He is a general partner of SOSV, a venture capital fund of over $1B, and founder of the SOSV Momentum Pre-accelerator program. Bill’s current focus is Health & Longevity as Chair of the SENS board and Chair to the Te Tiroroa Fund.

Beyond his ventures in the business world, Bill is deeply committed to environmental sustainability. As a co-founder of WeForest, a non-profit organization dedicated to reforestation efforts and has planted a hundred million trees globally. He has made significant contributions to combating climate change and promoting ecological balance.
His passion for environmental conservation has earned him recognition as a champion for a greener future.

A co-founder of CoderDojo, a free global network formed to assist young people with learning computer programming, Bill also co-founded XING, a pioneering enterprise social networking platform. Prior to these endeavors, Bill served as COO of Davnet, a telecommunications carrier. The author of three books, Bill has been a speaker at global events such as The World Economic Forum, The Globe Forum in Sweden, TED, and TEDx, and at institutions such as The London School of Economics and The House of Commons. With his captivating storytelling and thought-provoking presentations, he has inspired countless individuals to embrace innovation, resilience, and social responsibility. His ability to convey complex ideas with clarity and enthusiasm leaves audiences empowered and motivated.

Ruchira Shukla is the Managing Partner and Co-Founder of Synapses, a VC Fund focused on STEM-led innovations for climate change mitigation and adaptation.

Previously, Ruchira was the South Asia Regional Lead for Disruptive Technology Investments at the International Finance Corporation (IFC), World Bank Group. She led IFC’s investments in early-stage technology businesses as well as VC Funds and represented IFC on the boards of several startups and LP advisory committees. Her investments include Upgrad, Blackbuck, Bizongo, Tata1mg, Medgenome, Byju’s, and several others. Also, as the Global Lead for the HealthTech business at IFC, Ms. Shukla led IFC’s investments and interventions in the HealthTech industry across emerging markets.

Ms. Shukla also ran IFC’s South Asia business in Technology, Media and Telecom, and has previously worked with organizations such as Boston Consulting Group and Lehman Brothers. She has over 25 years of experience across venture capital and private equity investing, strategy consulting, and investment banking across Asia, US and Europe. Her sector focus spans consumer internet, enterprise technologies, B2B eCommerce, HealthTech, Edutech and eLogistics, with a keen interest in business models that leverage emerging technologies such as Web 3.0, AI, IoT and blockchain to disrupt traditional spaces.

Ruchira studied at IIT Delhi and IIM Ahmedabad in India. She also graduated as Palmer Scholar from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania and is a Chartered Financial Analyst.

She enjoys Indian classical music and herbal teas.

Oliver Hsu is a partner on the American Dynamism investing team at a16z, where he focuses on emerging computing platforms and applications for the physical world.

Oliver was previously an early product hire and chief of staff at Mos, an education financing startup. There, he led multiple business operations functions and launched new products for the company. He has also spent time building out developer ecosystems in Africa at Andela and as a fellow investing in seed-stage companies with Susa Ventures. Oliver holds an AB magna cum laude from Princeton University, where he studied public and international affairs.

Jack Rice serves as Principal at BHP Ventures. Before joining BHP Ventures, Jack held a number of roles within BHP Technical and Sales & Marketing functions. He has worked across multiple commodity groups and has led planning, optimization, customer platform, and trade digitalization projects.

Karan Mohla is a General Partner at B Capital focused on South and Southeast Asia. Karan has two decades of global experience and 15 years in technology focused venture investing.
Before joining B Capital, Karan was a Partner at Chiratae Ventures (formerly IDG Ventures India), where he invested in leading companies, including FirstCry, Xpressbees, GoodGlam Group, HealthifyMe and CropIn. He has invested in more than 30 companies, with investments ranging from $500k to $10M in sectors including ecommerce, healthcare, SaaS/B2B, logistics, mobility, ed-tech, agri-tech and gaming.
Prior to Chiratae Ventures, Karan worked with QVT Finance LP, a US based hedge fund, and in the technology banking group at Jefferies & Company in Silicon Valley, where he was a founding member for the India office.

He was recognized as one of the 40 under 40 leaders by Business World Magazine and one of the 40 under 40 Alternate Investment Professionals by the Indian Association of Alternative Investment Funds (IAAIF).
Karan earned a BBA from the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan and an MBA from INSEAD.

Kevin Xu is a Managing Director at Goldman Sachs Asset Management overseeing private equity investing across Asia Pacific healthcare and life science sectors. He has led investments across pharma, biotech, medical devices, outsourcing services and consumer health. Prior to his current role, Kevin served as an executive director in the firm’s Investment Banking Division. Kevin holds a Master of Science degree in Neuroscience and Clinical Psychology from King’s College London IOPPN, and a Master of Finance from the University of Cambridge.