SPACEtalks is less than a week away and we’re keeping the spotlight on our amazing line-up of speakers!
Today, we’re highlighting Krish Ramadurai, an Investment Partner at Harmonix Fund. Krish leads the firm’s technical due diligence, investment sourcing, and portfolio operational support across their healthcare, life sciences, and deep technology practices. At Harmonix, he built a top-decile performing portfolio of 40+ companies with a cumulative enterprise value of over $7 Billion. He has sourced and led due diligence for 30+ investments across early and growth stages with an extensive track record of success across multiple funds. He has backed numerous fundamental scientific breakthroughs spanning the world's first AI-designed drug in human trials to the first commercial rideshare satellite launched into space.
Furthermore, he is a multi-published author, scientist, advisor, guest lecturer, and former researcher at Harvard and MIT. His thought leadership has been featured in leading media outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Venture Capital Journal, Yahoo Finance, World Economic Forum, Funds Europe Magazine, Economy Middle East, TechBullion, Apple Podcasts, Pulse 2.0, and Nikkei Asia.
From Krish’s rich experience to the tech he’s keeping an eye on, get an insider’s view on this investment leader’s insight in the exclusive interview below.
Could you provide some insights into your background and experiences within the space industry?
I am the lead Investment Partner at Harmonix Fund, an early-stage VC fund investing in next-generation deep technologies and critical infrastructure. While at the firm, I led investments in several leading deep technology and infrastructure companies, including Loft Orbital, Tarana Wireless, ATLAS Space Operations, and Halo Industries. We have backed over a dozen major scientific breakthroughs, including the world's first commercial rideshare satellite launched into space. I have collaborated with numerous entrepreneurial initiatives across governmental and private-sector space agencies, including the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), Defense Innovation Unit (DIU), NASA's iTech program, Amazon Web Services Space, AFWERX, and SOFWERX. Prior to my career in VC, I worked under the Former US Secretary of Defense at Harvard's Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs.
Which trends or recent advancements in space technology do you find most exciting or promising?
Our firm has been actively focusing on next-generation federated networks, very-low earth orbit (VLEO) satellites, laser communication, edge-computing, digital twinning, non-GPS-dependent solutions, and hybrid space architecture, which we believe to be the most exciting upcoming trends in space technology.
In your opinion, are there specific sectors within the space technology industry that stand out as particularly appealing for potential investors?
I would say non-hardware-based solutions that are software-enabled have been appealing to investors as the development times are not as long as traditional hardware with better margins. Specific sectors of interest including digital twinning as well as orbital edge computing with artificial intelligence, which have garnered immense interest.
What challenges or obstacles do you foresee in the near future for the space industry, and how might these be addressed?
Perhaps the biggest challenge in the space industry has been the development timelines and capex. Many investors are swayed by the impacts of space technologies on humanity. However, the cadence of alpha/beta product development is often slower than other industries and requires robust knowledge of not only the science and engineering fundamentals of these technologies but also the government contract procurement cycles, representing a significant barrier to entry to traditional investors that are unaware of how to scale dual-use technologies.
As the space industry continues to evolve, what potential collaborations or partnerships do you think could significantly contribute to its growth and innovation?
Collaboration between the private sector and governmental agencies is paramount, as the cadence of development and contract procurement timelines are often on different timetables and wavelengths. The next generation of dual-use technologies will rely upon healthy government financing with private-sector growth potential so that these technologies can be scaled and facilitated faster in the interest of human security.
What are you looking forward to the most at SPACEtalks?
Intellectual dialogue on the future of critical infrastructure and space technology investing.
Join the Future of Space Technology
Join Krish next week at SPACEtalks, where he will join other industry-leading investors during a unique panel discussion, ‘Cultivating Cosmic Capital: Investing in the Future of Space Technology, Perspectives from Deep Tech Investors’.
And through Monday, March 25th, you can score 50% off your pass with code ‘SPACE50’!
Hurry, these discounted passes are limited.
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