Alessandro Aimar

CTO

Synthara

With a background in physical engineering, nanotechnologies, AI and microchip architecture, Alessandro began his professional journey at Imagination Technologies in 2014. There, he contributed to the verification and enhancement of the PowerVR GPU architecture. Alessandro returned to academia to pursue a PhD focused on energy-efficient AI computation. In 2019, Alessandro and Manu founded Synthara to develop advanced, energy-efficient computing systems, empowering a new wave of intelligent products.

Ayman Ahmed

CEO

Pearl Semiconductor

With a genuine passion for entrepreneurship, Ayman accumulated +28 years of engineering and managerial experience in the semiconductor industry. As one of the co-founders of Si-Ware Systems in 2004, he assumed several roles including VP of ASIC Engineering and VP of ASIC Marketing & Business Development before starting the Timing BU and then spun it out as Pearl Semiconductor in 2020. Ayman has notable contributions in the Timing industry such as leading the MEMS-Based Programmable Clock Generator Development program for Discera (Microchip) and a CMOS only LC-Based Self-Compensated Oscillator (SCO). Ayman holds 10 patents and received his B.Sc. and M.Sc. degrees in electronics and communication engineering from Ain-Shams University, Cairo, Egypt in 1994 and 2002 respectively.

Bedwyr Humphreys

Investment Director

Lam Capital

Bedwyr joined Lam in 2024 from ASML where he was responsible for Strategic Business Development including strategic investments and M&A. He began his career as a semiconductor process engineer having completed a PhD in Photonics. His interest in business development soon led to more commercial roles including senior leadership at both multinationals and startups including Board responsibility. Bedwyr’s experience spans both the silicon (including advanced packaging) and compound semiconductor industries and he is particularly excited to explore the opportunities emerging from the convergence and integration of photonics and electronics.

Christina Porter

CEO & Co-Founder

Invisix

Christina Porter is a co-founder and CEO of Invisix Measuring Systems, an Eindhoven based semiconductor metrology startup developing next-generation soft x-ray scatterometry instruments for advanced logic and memory nodes. She holds a PhD in physics and has spent the last 12 years working on short wavelength metrology, pairing high harmonic generation sources with advanced inference algorithms for critical dimension and overlay metrology. Prior to founding Invisix, Christina worked for 7 years in project leadership and pathfinding for the ASML soft x-ray metrology program. This technology, developed for 10 years at ASML, was licensed to Invisix in 2026 enabling continued development externally. Christina holds 16 published patents and her academic publications have received over 850 citations.

Cyril Vančura

Partner

imec.xpand

Cyril Vancura is Partner at imec.xpand, an independently managed value-add venture capital fund that focuses on hardware-based nanotechnology innovations where imec technology, expertise, network and infrastructure will play a differentiating role. Based in Leuven, Belgium, Cyril is focusing predominantly on deeptech investment opportunities in Europe and the US. Before joining imec.xpand, Cyril was Investment Principal at Robert Bosch Venture Capital, the corporate venture arm of Robert Bosch GmbH. Cyril holds a Ph.D. and a diploma (Master Degree) in physics from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zurich, Switzerland.

Fabio Violante

CEO

Arduino

Fabio Violante is CEO of Arduino since 2017, leading the world’s largest open source hardware/software community. Former CTO at BMC Software (2010-2015), co-founder of Neptuny & Moviri group. PhD in computer engineering from Politecnico di Milano. Qualcomm acquired Arduino in October 2025.

Jeroen Hoet

CEO & Co-Founder

Eyeo

Jeroen Hoet is co-founder and CEO of the disruptive photonics startup, eyeo, which develops a breakthrough imaging approach to unlock maximum light sensitivity and unprecedented native color fidelity for image sensors used in mobile devices, industrial systems, XR and more. As former entrepreneur in residence at imec, he successfully led the transition of a research-stage photonics technology into a compelling vision and business opportunity, paving the way for the launch of eyeo in 2024.

Jeroen has extensive technical and business experience in the imaging and semiconductor industries with roles in engineering, marketing and executive management at companies such as Caeleste, KLA, and ICsense. He earned a master’s degree in engineering with a focus on microelectronics at Ghent University and an executive MBA from Vlerick Business School.

Ligia Colina

CEO & Co-Founder

PROUD

Lise Rechsteiner

General Partner

Vsquared Ventures

Lise is a General Partner at Vsquared Ventures, a leading European VC fund backing early-stage deep tech companies across novel computing, semiconductors, energy, robotics, space, and tech-bio. Vsquared has built a strong pan-European portfolio including Isar Aerospace, IQM Quantum Computing, Black Semiconductor, Neura Robotics, Lace Lithography and Zama.
After completing her PhD at ETH Zurich, Lise began scaling companies at Rocket Internet before moving into venture capital, where she early recognized the tight interconnection between deep tech and impact. She went on to co-found the internationally active deep tech fund Propagator Ventures and joined Vsquared in 2021, doubling down on Europe’s deep tech opportunity.

Markus Bohl

CEO & Co-Founder

Ignite Next

Markus is a serial entrepreneur who has successfully built, scaled, and exited tech companies with the backing of both venture capital and corporate investors. Having raised more than $50 million in capital for his ventures, Markus has been through the rollercoaster journey of being a founder multiple times, from exit to almost running out of cash and back again. Markus‘ personal mission has become Ignite Next’s mission: to help deep tech founders become more successful faster.

Mike Noonen

CEO

Swave

Mike Noonen is CEO of Swave Photonics, a company pioneering tunable
photonics and holographic displays for AR and AI Smartglasses. He has 30
years of experience leading technology businesses resulting in two IPOs
and multiple acquisitions. Noonen was the Chairman and Founder of
Silicon Catalyst, Inc., the world’s 1st semiconductor incubator and EE Times
2015 Start-up of the Year.

Previously, Noonen was:
• EVP, Global Products, Design, Sales, & Marketing at
GlobalFoundries
• EVP, Worldwide Sales & Marketing, at NXP Semiconductors
• SVP, Global Sales & Marketing and GM of multiple product lines at
National Semiconductor

While at GlobalFoundries, he was elected to the Global Semiconductor
Alliance Board of Directors and in 2013 was recognized as the Colorado
State University Distinguished Alumni of the Year. He holds multiple
patents in the areas of video compression and internet telephony.

Patrick Vandenameele

CEO

imec

Patrick Vandenameele was appointed imec CEO, effective April 1, 2026. Patrick joined imec in 1996 as a researcher in wireless communication after earning his PhD in electrical engineering from KU Leuven. He went on to build a stellar international career as a deeptech entrepreneur, returning in 2017 to further strengthen imec’s venturing activities. As a result of acquisitions, he spent in total ten years in senior leadership teams of semiconductor companies such as Qorvo and Hisilicon/Huawei. Since 2021, Patrick has been instrumental in shaping imec’s R&D strategy, most recently in his role as EVP and Co-COO, preparing him to lead imec into its next chapter.

Philippe Notton

CEO & Founder

SiPearl

Passionate about high technology and fast-moving environments, Philippe Notton has worked in France, the UK and the US for market-leading groups (Thomson, Canal+, LSI Logic, STMicroelectronics, Atos), as well as a successful startup, MStar Semiconductor, sold to MediaTek in 2012 for US$4B.

His original vision of SiPearl came in 2015 while he was leading a division of 2400 engineers at STMicroelectronics. In 2017, Philippe joined Atos to set up the European Processor Initiative (EPI) consortium, which aimed to foster the return of high-performance processor design to Europe. In June 2019, he launched SiPearl as a spin-off of the EPI with the support of the European Union.

Philippe holds an engineering degree from Supélec and an Executive MBA from Essec and Manheim.

Søren Hein

COO & Deputy CEO

IQM Quantum Computers

Søren is COO and Deputy CEO at IQM Quantum Computers and a Venture Partner at MIG Capital, leading their deep tech investments. He brings 20 years of VC experience, having led numerous investments and exits across Europe and North America. Prior to joining IQM as a Board Observer in 2019 and MIG in 2016, he co-founded Compound Disk Drives, a startup developing a novel electric motor for hybrid vehicles. Before that, he was a Partner at Doughty Hanson Technology Ventures and CTO of Infineon’s Wireless Systems business unit. Søren holds a Ph.D. in electrical engineering and computer science from UC Berkeley and an MBA from INSEAD. In his spare time, he competes at high-level Bridge tournaments and writes algorithmic code.

Srini Ananth

Managing Director

Intel Capital

Srini Ananth is a Managing Director located in the Bay Area. He joined Intel Capital in 2015.

In his role, Srini invests in Deep Tech, Cloud Infrastructure, and AI Applications companies. Srini led investments in Astera Labs, Ayar Labs, BabbleLabs (acquired by Cisco), Common Sense Machines, Eliyan, Inworld AI, Iris.TV, Joby Aviation (NYSE: JOBY), OnScale, SummerBio, VeriSIM Life, and three other companies still in stealth. He was also involved in investments in Delta ID (acquired by FPC), Spectrum Labs, and Volocopter.

Srini currently serves as a director or observer on the board of Astera Labs, Ayar Labs, Common Sense Machines, Eliyan, Inworld AI, SiPhox and VeriSIM Life. Previously he served as an observer at BabbleLabs and Joby.

Srini has over a decade of operating experience spanning engineering, business development, and product management roles in IoT, mobile, and semiconductors. He holds an MBA from UCLA and MSEE from Arizona State University. He loves single-malts, skiing, and rooting for the Dallas Cowboys.

Tim Luke

Vice Chairman

Barclays

Tim Luke is a Vice Chairman in the Global Technology Investment Banking Group at Barclays, based in New York. He advises semiconductor and communications companies on capital raising, mergers, and acquisitions. Before rejoining Barclays in 2014, Tim served as Senior Advisor of Business Trade and Innovation to the UK Prime Minister, David Cameron, and Deputy Prime Minister, Sir Nick Clegg, focusing on business policy and inward investment in the UK’s technology ecosystem. Previously, he was the Global Sector Head for Technology Equity Research at Barclays Capital and Lehman Brothers and was the top-ranked US equity research analyst from 2000 to 2010 in semiconductors, data networking and wireless equipment. Tim studied European History and Economics with French Literature at the University of East Anglia.