A Bold Perspective on Investing: Neal Bhadkamkar, General Partner, Bold Capital Partners
Neal brings more than 30 years of investment and start-up experience as General Partner of BOLD. Previously, Neal was co-founder and General Partner of Monitor Ventures (an early stage venture fund) and head of commercialization for Interval Research, Paul Allen’s Silicon Valley incubator. Early in his career he worked at the Boston Consulting Group. Neal’s original academic training was in EE from IIT Delhi, followed by an MBA from Harvard Business School. Later he obtained a PhD in EE from Stanford University.
BOLD manages a family of funds targeting investments ($250 million fund) in early stage and growth technology companies. We are particularly interested in entrepreneurial leaders that leverage exponential technologies to transform the world and create innovative solutions to humanity’s grand challenges.
They invest in series A $1-3 million and seed at about $150,000.
An example of some of the companies they invested in:
eXo is pioneering a high-performance ultrasound platform and AI for imaging and diagnostics.
Exo Imagings is using advanced MEMS to revinvent ultrasound.
Exo’s pioneering ultrasound platform enables high-performance imaging, while breaking down the barriers of cost and accessibility that have historically handicapped the broader utilization of medical imaging.
Our breakthrough transducer technology combines state-of-the-art nanomaterials and advanced signal processing to form the core of our ultrasound platform.
Exceptional image fidelity, penetration depth, and 3D imaging capabilities are now possible on a silicon-based chip that can be used in the most demanding applications — from high fidelity imaging to HIFU-based therapeutics.
They want to bring down the cost of ultrasound device from $100K-250K to less than $2000. they wanted to shrink it from the size of a washing machine to the smartphone or tablet-sized.
Areas of Interest are the Singularity University Grand Challenges
The pace of technological change is only accelerating and will continue to provide a rich and changing spectrum of investment opportunities. And, while we will always seek to back unique entrepreneurial talent, we also believe there are a number of significant mega-trends that will shape our lives over the next twenty years.
Most of their investments have been in health and productivity.
Trillion Sensor Explosion will yield Radical Transparency – Knowing anything, anytime, anywhere: We believe that an explosion of sensors, 1 trillion by the end of 2020, and up to 100 trillion by 2030 will allow one to know anything, anytime. BOLD looks for companies that will make use of these massive dataset to deliver extraordinary insights to consumers and businesses—be it in health, productivity, mobility, or energy management.
8 Billion People Connected @ Gigabit Connection Speeds: We believe that in the next 4 – 6 years, 5G, Google Loon, Oneweb, Starlink and others will be connecting 4 billion new consumers to the global internet (taking us from 4 billion to 8 billion connected consumers). These 4 billion “rising billion” will all want financial services, insurance, education, healthcare. They will all want it without middlemen, and a marginally zero cost. BOLD looks for companies to serve this rising billion.
Explosion of the AR/VR World: The next 5 to 10 years will see a redefinition of the worlds of entertainment, education, training and the management of complex human collaborations—whether it be social or productivity oriented. BOLD looks for companies that will define the platforms of this dynamically changing interaction medium.
Increased Longevity & Vitality: We believe that the combination of AI, genome sequencing technology, DNA editing technology, stem cell technologies, sensors and big data will allow us to add 10 – 30 years to the healthy human lifespan. BOLD looks for companies that have a unique approaches to this multi-trillion dollar marketplace.
Brian Wang is a Futurist Thought Leader and a popular Science blogger with 1 million readers per month. His blog Nextbigfuture.com is ranked #1 Science News Blog. It covers many disruptive technology and trends including Space, Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, Medicine, Anti-aging Biotechnology, and Nanotechnology.
Known for identifying cutting edge technologies, he is currently a Co-Founder of a startup and fundraiser for high potential early-stage companies. He is the Head of Research for Allocations for deep technology investments and an Angel Investor at Space Angels.
A frequent speaker at corporations, he has been a TEDx speaker, a Singularity University speaker and guest at numerous interviews for radio and podcasts. He is open to public speaking and advising engagements.