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Alpha Summit Americas by Allocator One - Speakers

Aza Raskin
Co-founder of the Center for Humane Technology and Earth Species Project
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Aza Raskin is co-founder of the Center for Humane Technology, the nonprofit dedicated to aligning technology with human wellbeing, and co-host of the podcast Your Undivided Attention. He was a key architect and subject of the Emmy Award-winning Netflix documentary The Social Dilemma, and is also co-founder of Earth Species Project, a nonprofit using AI to decode animal communication. Trained as a mathematician and dark matter physicist, he previously helped found Mozilla Labs and has taken three companies from founding to acquisition. He is a National Geographic Explorer, a co-chair of the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council on AI, and the son of Jef Raskin, the pioneering designer behind the original Macintosh project at Apple.

Leah Solivan
GP at Fuel Capital, MD of Precedent.vc, and founder of TaskRabbit
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Leah Solivan is a General Partner at Fuel Capital and Managing Director of Precedent.vc, managing three top-quartile funds with a portfolio of over 150 companies across consumer technology, hardware, education, and marketplaces. She brings a founder’s perspective to her investing, having created TaskRabbit in 2008, the on-demand marketplace that helped define the gig economy. As CEO for eight years, she scaled the company to 44 cities before overseeing its acquisition by IKEA in 2017.

A sought-after speaker on entrepreneurship and the future of work, Leah has appeared at the World Economic Forum in Davos and her work has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Wired, and Fast Company, which named her one of the “100 Most Creative People in Business.” She is committed to advancing diversity in tech and serves on the boards of PetMeds (NASDAQ: PETS) and the San Francisco Ballet.

Andrew Rubenstein
Founding Partner, Shorewind Capital
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Andrew is a Founding Partner of Shorewind Capital, an early-stage venture fund focused on deeptech. Launched in 2021, Shorewind invests in Pre-Seed –– Series A startups with a technical edge, mainly in health tech, energy tech, and industrial automation. Shorewind has invested in 37 companies across two funds. Andrew also hosts the TaleWind podcast, where he interviews authors of books about science, tech, and business.

Jens Hilgers
Founding General Partner at BITKRAFT Ventures
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Jens Hilgers is a pioneer in the gaming and esports industry, currently serving as the Founding General Partner at BITKRAFT Ventures, a global investment platform with $830 million in assets under management, focusing on gaming, esports, and Web3 technologies. He co-founded ESL (Electronic Sports League), G2 Esports, and Bayes, and is known for his role in leading the first unicorn exit in Germany’s gaming industry, with ESL’s acquisition by Saudi Arabia’s SAVVY Games Group for $1.05 billion. Through BITKRAFT, Hilgers continues to invest in and shape the future of gaming and interactive entertainment.

Michael Langer
Co-Founder and Managing Partner, T.Rx Capital
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Michael Langer is Co-Founder and Managing Partner of T.Rx Capital, a fund investing at the intersection of biology and technology. He is also an Executive Producer of Superhuman Body, an IMAX feature narrated by Matthew McConaughey exploring the future of human enhancement. Michael serves on the Leadership Board at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, the Global Board of Directors for MassChallenge, and is a former World Economic Forum Global Shaper. He previously founded Old Silver VC, backing 20+ companies including Big Hat Biosciences and Alto Pharmacy. His father, Dr. Bob Langer, MIT Professor and co-founder of Moderna, serves as a key advisor. Michael holds a BA from Lehigh University.

Iliana Oris Valiente
Managing Director and North America Innovation Hubs Lead at Accenture
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IIliana Oris Valiente is the Managing Director and North America Innovation Hubs Lead at Accenture. A seasoned CPA and strategist, Iliana has built a reputation as a global thought leader in emerging technologies, particularly in AI and Web3. She is an active startup advisor and investor, lending her expertise to support innovative ventures. Iliana is also a frequent speaker and published author, and serves on several boards of directors including at Sunnybrook Hospital. Iliana advocates for the future of work, and for the integration of cutting-edge technologies in business — ensuring companies stay competitive in a rapidly evolving digital landscape.

David Glynn
Managing Partner, Glynn Capital
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David Glynn joined Glynn Capital in 2007 and is currently Managing Partner.

In this capacity, David serves as an investment partner and also manages firm operations and investment strategy and execution. David focuses on investments in growth-stage technology companies across enterprise software, marketplaces, fintech and insuretech.

Prior to Glynn Capital, David was a Manager at Eric Godtland Management and a software Analyst at Robertson Stephens.

David earned a BA from the University of Notre Dame and an MBA from Stanford University Graduate School of Business. David serves on the College of Arts and Letters Advisory Council and the Wall Street Leadership Council at Notre Dame.

Bradley Horowitz
GP at Wisdom Ventures
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Bradley Horowitz is a co-founder of Wisdom Ventures, a seed venture fund focused on tech-enabled wellness, and whose investments include OpenAI, Anthropic and Function Health. Over the past two decades he has served as an executive at both Google and Yahoo, where he led product for some of the industry’s most-loved and widest-used products including Gmail, Google Docs, Google Photos, Google News and Flickr. Previously he co-founded Virage, and served as CTO from their founding until their IPO on NASDAQ.

In 2025, he was named the number #5 best Seed Investor by Business Insider, and his track record of over 170 angel investments includes Slack, Scale AI, Ramp, Miro, Upstart, NerdWallet, Mercury, and Applied Intuition. He currently serves on the board of the financial services company Circle, and formerly served on the boards of Singtel, Issuu, and Lyst.

Nicola Sinclair
Founder and General Partner | Twin Track Ventures
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Nicola Sinclair is currently focused on establishing Twin Track Ventures, a venture capital initiative aimed at fostering innovation and supporting early-stage startups. With a background in entrepreneurship and venture development, Nicola brings a wealth of experience to the table, working on creating opportunities for high-growth companies. She is passionate about building the next generation of ventures that balance both financial and social impact, leveraging her deep expertise in the startup ecosystem.

Dr. Ben Miles
co-founder of Empirical Ventures
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Dr Ben Miles is a physicist turned deep-tech investor, entrepreneur and science communicator focused on helping scientific breakthroughs move from discovery to deployment. He is Co-Founder and General Partner at Empirical Ventures, an early-stage investment fund and venture studio backing UK and European deep-tech startups across areas including quantum, advanced materials, energy and biotechnology.

Ben completed his PhD in Nanophysics at the University of Bristol before joining university spin-out Ziylo, later acquired by Novo Nordisk. In 2018 he founded Spin Up Science, which has supported over 200 spin-outs across 25 UK universities and trained more than 4,500 PhD researchers in entrepreneurship.

Alongside his investing work, Dr Ben runs one of the world’s largest online platforms explaining cutting-edge science and engineering. Across YouTube, TikTok, Instagram and other platforms he reaches an audience of over 3 million followers, explaining the technologies shaping the future.

Wes Panek
Head of Fund Investing at Astera Institute
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Wes Panek is Head of Fund Investing at Astera Institute, a multi-billion-dollar foundation focused on advancing intelligence, life sciences, and frontier technologies that can help humanity realize an abundant future. Previously, he was the first hire at Screendoor, an emerging manager focused fund of funds, as well as a seed-stage VC and management consultant.

David Zhou
Founder of Superclusters
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David Zhou is the Host of Superclusters, a podcast dedicated to unlocking the secrets, stories and tactics about the money behind the money. He is also the co-founder of The Side Letter, a tech platform turning investing in venture managers into a multiplayer and collaborative practice. Prior to both, he was the Head of Investor Relations at Alchemist Accelerator, as well as ran operations and programs for On Deck Angels. He’s an active angel investor and LP in emerging managers. On the side, he writes a personal blog, Cup of Zhou, charting his weekly journey on this planet.

Jeremiah Owyang
GP at Blitzscaling Ventures
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Jeremiah Owyang is a General Partner at Blitzscaling Ventures, spearheading AI investment in early-stage companies. In addition to being an LP in Blitzscaling Fund I, he has been an active angel investor since 2017. His longstanding friendship with Chris Yeh spans over two decades, during which he served on the board of Ustream, leading to a sale of $130 million to IBM. Jeremiah manages the SF Bay Area deal flow for the firm and organizes the popular Llama Lounge event series, focusing on AI startups. A renowned global speaker at conferences, he boasts a substantial social media following across platforms like TwitterX, LinkedIn, Slack, and through his newsletters.

Jennifer Kan, PhD
Co-Founder & Managing Partner, Juniper
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Dr. Jennifer Kan is a trailblazer at the intersection of synthetic biology and venture capital. A former Caltech postdoc, her enzyme engineering research is lauded in Science, Nature, and the 2018 Nobel Prize lecture. As co-founder of Juniper Fund, Jennifer backs pioneering pre-seed startups decarbonizing industrial sectors—bridging the crucial gap ignored by traditional biotech and mainstream climate VCs. Recognized by Forbes and holding 6 patents, she is a trusted expert championing the next wave of industrial biotech transformation.

Lucy Wang
Founder and Partner, Divergent Capital
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Lucy is a first-generation immigrant, mathematician, and machine learning researcher turned investor. Raised by scientists, she was co-building award-winning carbon fiber bikes at 7 and publishing nanoparticle cancer research in high school. After Brown and a Master’s in ML at NYU Courant under Yann LeCun, she cut her teeth at Bridgewater under Ray Dalio before moving into VC at Greycroft and 11.2 Capital. She co-founded Livepeer and Rendered AI, and as a first-check investor, 20% of her portfolio has produced unicorns, including Covariant AI, Immuta, and Clay.

Michael Ströck
Founding Partner at Allocator One
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Michael Ströck is the co-founder and managing partner of Allocator One, a firm focused on supporting first-time venture capital fund managers globally. With extensive experience in tech and entrepreneurship, Michael has co-founded multiple companies and venture funds, including Candidately (YC S17), First Circle Capital and Calm/Storm Ventures.

Erica Wenger
Founding GP at Park Rangers Capital
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Erica Wenger is the Founding General Partner at Park Rangers Capital, an early-stage venture firm backing “elephant companies” — startups that turn customers into members and build enduring, community-driven value. Her viral essay Elephants, Not Unicorns reached millions and established her as a leading voice rethinking venture capital.

A 3x founder and early operator (employee #2 twice), she brings a rare blend of operating depth, investing acumen, and platform reach. She hosts the Trailblazers podcast and has built an audience of 100K+ across platforms, where she shares perspectives on startups, venture, and storytelling.

Park Rangers Capital is backed by leading impact investors, GPs, and operators from companies like Google, OpenAI, and Anthropic. Erica’s work has been featured in major publications including Fortune, Forbes, and The New York Times, and founders consistently describe her as one of the most thoughtful VCs.

Mark Trevitt
Founder & Managing Partner, Defined
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Mark Trevitt is the Founder and Managing Partner of Defined, a thesis-first venture firm investing at the AI Frontier™. With over a decade in AI/ML investing, he’s backed multiple $1B+ outcomes including D-Wave (NYSE: QBTS), Bit Stew Systems (acq. GE), and GaN Systems (acq. Infineon). A former engineer and operator, Mark is a Kauffman Fellow and Venture Partner at Tribe Capital, known for his hands-on approach to scaling world-class AI companies.

Katie Shea
Founding GP at Divergent Capital
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Katie Shea is a Founding General Partner at Divergent Capital, a pre-seed fund based in NYC. Katie has spent her entire career in the early-stage tech ecosystem as a founder, operator, angel investor & VC. Passionate about connecting great people, building great companies, and finding the best dance parties.

Felix Staeritz
Founding Partner at Allocator One
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Allocator One backs the top 3% of emerging fund managers globally. Felix has successfully built and exited several companies and is passionate about supporting new fund talent and high-potential ventures. His extensive network and experience in scaling businesses make him a valuable contributor to the investment community.

Ben Topor
Managing Partner of Titan Capital Partners
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Ben Topor is a software industry strategist and growth equity investor focused on technology and secondary investments. He is the founder and Managing Partner of Titan Capital Partners, where he partners with founders and long-term operators across the technology ecosystem.

His perspective is shaped in part by an early career in Israeli counterintelligence, which developed a disciplined approach to analyzing patterns, incentives, and competitive behaviour. He applies this framework to evaluating market structure, category formation, and strategic positioning in software businesses.

Ben is the author of Decoding the Software Landscape, which presents a field-tested framework for understanding modern software markets and how companies compete and scale. He has invested across Israel, Europe, and the U.S., with experience in high-growth private technology companies, including through secondary transactions.

Isabel Engels
US Advisor at Allocator One
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Isabel has spent the past several years working across investing, community-building, and platform development within the global venture and family office ecosystem. She is a co-founder of Horizons, a curated community of next-generation family office principals and leading founders, through which she has hosted private conversations with exceptional leaders across the investment, geopolitical, and technology landscape. Previously, Isabel founded and exited a UK-based social housing business in 2025. She is now working closely with Allocator One, helping to build the US ecosystem.

Simon Lancaster
General Partner @ Omni Ventures
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CTO at Carbon Mobile and Founding GP at Omni Ventures, the Manufacturing Tech VC. Simon has over 15 years of experience in product design, engineering, and manufacturing innovation at companies like Apple, Google and Blackberry. At Omni Ventures, he focuses investing in Manufacturing Tech, fueling groundbreaking ventures in robotics, automation, and AI.

Joe Hyrkin
CEO Coach, Tech Advisor and Investor
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After nearly 30 years in Silicon Valley, Joe Hyrkin brings hard-won expertise from every stage of building and scaling VC-backed technology companies. Most recently, he spent 11 years as CEO of Issuu, leading the company from early stage to a nine-figure exit, growing revenue 8x, scaling to 150+ employees across global offices, and serving over one million creators and a billion consumers annually. His broader career spans leadership roles across Silicon Valley, New York, Asia and Europe, including two exits to leading digital platforms and tenures at Yahoo!, Sina.com, The Economist Group and Virage Inc. He has also served as CEO of Wordnik/Reverb and SingleFeed, and as EIR at Trinity Ventures. A frequent media contributor and speaker, Joe has appeared in Forbes, TechCrunch and Bloomberg, and on stages at Web Summit, SaaStr and Adobe Max. His companies have been backed by Benchmark, Redpoint, Trinity, Floodgate and True Ventures.

Christian Byza
Founder of Purple AI, AI house, and OMR
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Christian Byza is the Founder of Purple AI (www.bepurple.ai), a startup that lets engineering teams ship complex features into existing codebases without writing a single line of code themselves. As the host of the OMR Silicon Valley Update podcast, he’s been reporting from the frontlines of the tech world - essentially OMR’s correspondent in California. He is also the Co-Founder of OMR, Europe’s largest tech & marketing festival with 70k attendees in 2026.

Originally from Hamburg, Christian spends his time outside of House of AI (his AI-focused co-working space in SF) either outdoors with his family or shaping wood like a pro in his own workshop.

Hyde Patterson
Co-founder of Gravity Compute
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Hyde Patterson is Co-Founder of Gravity Compute, a San Francisco-based company he co-founded in 2024. Previously he was an investor at Longitude Capital, a healthcare-focused venture capital firm, and a scout at Inspired Capital. He also serves as a Board Member of SPROUT Coding, a nonprofit bringing STEM resources to marginalized communities. He is the son of Arthur Patterson, co-founding partner of Accel.

Alicia Hanf
Head of Institutional Ecosystem Partnerships at LG Nova
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Alicia Hanf is Head of Institutional Ecosystem Partnerships at LG Nova, the North American innovation arm of LG Electronics, where she builds strategic partnerships connecting startups, corporations, and investors to accelerate innovation. She is also a Venture Partner at Desert Forge Ventures. Prior to LG Nova, she founded Dear Mama Ventures, an investment platform focused on getting capital into the hands of underrepresented founders. Earlier in her career she helped scale Bunker Labs, supporting veteran-led startups across more than 35 cities. A military veteran herself, she has been featured in Forbes, Yahoo Finance, and the Washington Post.

Dr. Céline Chi Hae Wong
Director and CEO of Allocator One, Asia
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Dr. Céline Chi Hae Wong, a Strategic finance professional in investment banking, digital innovation, and regulatory transformation across Europe and Asia. Former Head of Digital Assets at VP Bank and ex-BCG consultant, with deep expertise in the structuring, implementation, and lifecycle management. With a family business background in Renewable Solar Energy and Real Estate, Céline has been brought up in a multinational entrepreneurial family and is also a worldwide recognised leading next gen voice of global philanthropy.

Arushi Sharma
Partner at Allocator One Bharat
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Arushi Sharma is a Partner at Allocator One Bharat, specializing in venture fund evaluation and investment strategy. She has deeply informed every investment decision Allocator One has made, globally, since its inception. With experience in venture capital, startups, and finance, she manages Allocator One Bharat’s dealflow, due diligence and GP-relations processes. Her deep integration in all of Allocator One’s fund selection across the globe ensures that “top 3%” really means “top 3% globally”, in every market we’re active in.

Stefanie Maria Feicht
Director – Investments & Capital Partnerships, APG Wealth
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Stefanie Maria Feicht is Director of Investments and Capital Partnerships at APG Wealth, the single-family office of AP Globale. She leads investment origination and capital partnerships, identifying and evaluating opportunities across direct investments and co-investment structures while building long-term relationships with global investors, family offices, and strategic partners. She brings over a decade of international experience across Europe, India, and the Middle East, and previously served as Managing Director of AP Globale’s European operations.

More speakers to come