Foothill Ventures is a technology-focused venture fund based in Los Altos, California. We make pre-seed, seed (preferred), and A-round investments in startups across software, life science, and deep tech. We grew out of the TEEC Angel Fund, which made seed-stage, highly successful bets on companies like Zoom Communications, Iterable, Carta, Plus.ai, Opentrons, WeRide.ai and Ginkgo Bioworks, all subsequent Unicorns.

Time frame:

Spring semester of 2024 (part-time)

Responsibilities:

Foothill Ventures is seeking an ambitious PhD student or post-doc to conduct research around mapping and tracking the transfer of AI innovations from academia to startups. 

In this research role, you will:

• Conduct reviews of influential deep learning papers and track co-author career trajectories
• Analyze talent flows between academia and industry research labs in AI
• Profile AI startups founded by academics and researchers and characterize their funding and success
• Synthesize findings into insights to identify rising AI entrepreneurial stars
• Prepare reports to support our AI startup investment thesis and sourcing mechanism

• PhD candidate or post-doc with experience in AI/deep learning research
• Passionate about venture capital, startups, and realizing academic research innovations commercially
• Strong curiosity and perseverance in analyzing datasets
• Creative thinking linking academic breakthroughs to industry opportunities
• Interest in authoring reports/blog posts on the AI entrepreneurial ecosystem
• Experience in strategic business analysis desired but not required

Foothill Ventures is an equal opportunity employer. All aspects of employment including the decision to hire, promote, discipline, or discharge, will be based on merit, competence, performance, and business needs. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, marital status, age, national origin, ancestry, physical or mental disability, medical​​​ condition, pregnancy, genetic information, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or ​expression, veteran status, or any other status protected under federal, state, or local law.