Let’s talk about space at Disrupt Berlin with Mike Collett

You thought TechCrunch Disrupt Berlin was all about SaaS, fintech, social, blockchain and all the traditional tech topics? Of course not! I’m excited to announce that Mike Collett from Promus Ventures is going to tell you why you should care about space beyond SpaceX.

Arguably, SpaceX is the reason why many people are interested in space topics. But there’s a vibrant ecosystem of startups that are working on small and big challenges to create new use cases, launch bigger objects, travel further and open up new possibilities.

Collett in particular has been studying this (ahem) space for many years. He’s the founder and managing partner of Promus Ventures, a VC firm focused on deep tech investments.

He invests in many things, such as AI, robotics, computer vision, blockchain, healthcare, agriculture and… space. Before that, he focused on nanotechnology more specifically, with investments in quantum cascade lasers, quantum dots, photonic integrated optoelectronic devices, nano-engineered fabrics and more.

It’s clear that Collett will have plenty of interesting things to say about the current landscape of space startups. That’s why you should buy your ticket to Disrupt Berlin to listen to this discussion and many others. The conference will take place on November 29-30.

In addition to fireside chats and panels, like this one, new startups will participate in the Startup Battlefield Europe to win the highly coveted Battlefield cup.

Mike Collett

Founder & Managing Partner, Promus Ventures

Mike Collett is Founder and Managing Partner of Promus Ventures, a venture capital firm based in Chicago and San Francisco investing in deep-technology software and hardware companies in the U.S., Europe and New Zealand. Mike has been a venture capital investor in software and hardware for over 15 years. He has invested in more than 65 private technology companies, including areas such as artificial intelligence/machine learning, space, fintech, robotics, syn bio, computer vision, connected car, blockchain, healthcare, insurance, agriculture, nanotechnology and others. Mike currently serves on numerous Boards of Directors of private technology companies, including Spire, Gauss Surgical, Dispatch, ICEYE, CrossLend, Rhombus and others.

Mike previously was Founder and Managing Partner of Masters Capital Nanotechnology Fund, a venture capital firm. Investments included companies in quantum cascade lasers, quantum dots, photonic integrated optoelectronic devices, nano-engineered fabrics and others. While at Masters Capital, a hedge fund, Mike invested in private technology software and hardware companies. Prior to venture capital, Mike was a Vice President at Merrill Lynch in their Mergers & Acquisitions group as well as an Associate at Duff & Phelps.

Mike holds a Bachelor’s of Science in Math and Bachelor’s of Arts in English from Vanderbilt University. He also holds a Masters of Business Administration in Finance from Washington University in St. Louis. Mike and his wife Paige have four children and live in Chicago.