SAN FRANCISCO– Genoa Ventures, the pioneering early-stage venture fund investing where biology and technology converge, today announced the promotion of Vikram Chaudhery, Ph.D., to Partner and the appointment of Amy Harris to Vice President of Finance, further growing the capabilities and depth of the firm.
“It is my passion to build businesses and products that transform industries and have the potential to help humanity by integrating technology into biology,” said Dr. Chaudhery. “Genoa has given me an incredible opportunity to expand my reach in this arena, providing a platform to work with companies to help them grow and scale to ultimately create category-changing transformation. I feel so fortunate to work with Jenny and the entire Genoa team who share this passion.”
Prior to joining Genoa in 2019, Dr. Chaudhery served as Head of Life Sciences at Lam Research where he led overall strategy, partnership/business development, and venture investment functions for life sciences, focusing on next-generation ‘omics technologies. Under his leadership, investments included Nanostring, Omniome, Antheia, and MissionBio. Vikram also previously led the Life Sciences Tools practice at McKinsey & Co, collaborating with pharmaceutical, diagnostics, medical device, and biotechnology companies to bolster operational efficiencies and drive new business development. Dr. Chaudhery is the co-author of more than a dozen peer-reviewed scientific publications, having earned his Ph.D. in electrical engineering and biological systems engineering from the University of Illinois.
“When I started Genoa Ventures, my mission was to make venture funding available to a category of entrepreneurs who had largely been ignored by traditional tech and healthcare VCs. Vikram brings unique insights into our investment process and expands our reach into new sectors of innovation while also inspiring trust from his colleagues and the companies he mentors,” said Jenny Rooke, Ph.D., Genoa’s Founder and Managing Director.
Amy Harris joins Genoa Ventures to lead the firm’s finance function and fund administration. Amy’s role will bring essential back-office capabilities in-house and enable her to be a resource for portfolio companies by providing strategic financial counsel. Prior to joining Genoa, Amy was the VP of Finance at Village Global and at JAZZ Venture Partners.
“We are also extremely excited to have Amy on board to provide essential operational support internally and expand the ways in which our team can support our rapidly growing portfolio companies,” said Dr. Rooke.
The new roles for Dr. Chaudhery and Ms. Harris come as Genoa continues to expand the firm’s investments in category-defying companies innovating at the convergence of biology and technology. Each member of the Genoa Ventures investing team has worked across the spectrum of biology and technology – as investors, scientists, engineers, inventors, entrepreneurs, operators, and advisors. Genoa portfolio companies span Life Science Tools, Diagnostics, MedTech, AgriFood, and Industrial Bio – verticals where early-stage companies often fall beyond the scope and expertise of traditional healthcare/life science venture capital.
