We’re investors, former entrepreneurs, and operators with deep experience in starting & scaling companies.
We understand the challenges and pitfalls of each startup phase and leverage this experience to help our companies grow across liquidity cycles with tremendous resilience, adaptation and trusted advice.
Deal Expertise
We are experienced executives & operational experts with genuine partnerships across many industries.
Meet the Team
Rely on our strong deal expertise and proven success as operators to drive returns
East Coast - New York & Boston
KLAUS KLEINFELD
East
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Klaus focuses on investments across various stages and sectors. He develops international enterprises and leads executive and board-level governance connecting entrepreneurs with our deep network of influential executives across a variety of technology sectors.
Ex-President and CEO of Siemens AG, Arconic, and Alcoa
CEO & Chairman of Constellation Acquisition Corp.
First CEO and Director of the ONE-Trillion Dollar NEOM Project, and economic development adviser to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Advisor to several U.S. Presidents
Boards of Trustees of the World Economic Forum, Turner Construction, Bayer, Citibank, HP, and Morgan Stanley
Capital Raised in US public markets: >$7B
Invests in and develops international enterprises
LARS UFFHAUSEN
East
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Lars oversees the firm’s investing approach, strategy, investor relations, and governance. Lars and his team support entrepreneurs in their go-to-market efforts by connecting them with successful business leaders that drive market demand. Putting startups in the fast lane to sustainable revenues attract enterprise buyers.
Founder Advanced Manufacturing Unicorn 1
Created 20x multiple at MIT-Media-Lab Spin-Off
Led corporate development at strategic generating >$6B in accretive growth
Raised over $250M for startup companies
Venture investor with over 20 years of early-stage tech companies operating experience
Worked across capital structures from seed-stage investments to public offerings
SCOTT N. MILLER
East
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Scott is the first product partner to visionary founders on their path to building foundational hardware companies. He provides insights into the supply-chain infrastructure and operates a network of highly vetted and managed partners linking software and networks to connect with unlimited low-volume manufacturing capacity.
Active Limited Partner at various Venture Capital Funds
Active early-stage Angel Investor and Advisor, over 50 Startups
Co-Founder of Bolt VC Funds 1 & 2, a pre-seed Venture Fund with various unicorns & exits
Founder & Managing Director of Dragon Ventures with a focus on Hardware Companies
Founder and CEO of Dragon Innovation, acquired by Avnet.
Set up and led manufacturing for famous groundbreaking Roombas at iRobot
Former Walt Disney Imagineer
Boston Deep-Tech Veteran
Dartmouth and MIT Graduate
Adjunct Professor at Olin College of Engineering
West Coast - Silicon Valley
DREW ANDERSON
West
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Drew focuses on category-defining companies building new products in enterprise software and security to transform markets. He works with entrepreneurs developing technology to accelerate sustainable businesses into the digital world. Drew’s services team is the first partner to founders on their path to building foundational companies with an exit in mind.
Technology Advisor for multiple Private Equity firms and Software Teams
CEO Cloud Media Works, LLC, CTO iTexico, CTO Hitlab
Serial Entrepreneur co-founded multiple startups with 3 IPO's.
Software architect, team builder/leader, Cybersecurity, SME,
Pioneer technologist in Mobile internet and OTT Streaming Media.
Technology leader who provides business acumen, digital transformation strategy, and expert execution and management with over twenty years of knowledge and experience in international business and technology.
Focus is on the software/internet industry, and machine/industrial technologies in the cloud.
Founder or co-founder of several startups in Silicon Valley, with 3 IPOs, and 3 M&As under his belt.
Created and curated close relationships with several Private Equity and Venture Capital firms over the years, most recently closing deals that provide end-to-end business, software, security, and team-building solutions.
Over the last 5 years, he has worked with over 50 companies providing solutions for PE/VC firms
RAY TAYLOR
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Ray works with entrepreneurs by driving a product-centric approach to deep tech innovation that benefits strategics, and their initiatives in AI-enabled software, advanced connectivity, mobility, and process virtualization.
Angel investor, board advisor, and mentor to early-stage tech companies, and over eight years as EIR advising Venture Capital and CVC firms
Founding team member, President/CEO of multiple start-ups
President at Buongiorno (DoCoMo) and LUMATA (PE portfolio)
Executive Director at Verizon as growth leader, driving a $4B business unit with 30+ years in wireless telecom and technology experience
Over ten years of management consulting
JIM XANTHOS
East
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Jim partners closely with founders and management teams to build next-generation energy and nuclear technologies, helping them navigate the technical, regulatory, and commercial realities required to scale in highly competitive markets. With over 40 years of experience designing and deploying mission-critical systems as well as protecting the associated Intellectual Property as a Patent Attorney, Jim brings exceptional skills in systems engineering, program execution, and regulatory engagement.
◆ Works directly with founders to de-risk technical roadmaps and system architectures for next-generation energy and nuclear applications
◆ Possesses unique experience working for the US Government (US Army & NSA), large companies (Verizon, Marriott, IBM, Comsat), and numerous start-ups
◆ Leverages a rare combination of engineering (EE from MIT and Johns Hopkins) and legal (JD from Georgetown) expertise to help founders anticipate and avoid compliance challenges and quickly scale
◆ Brings deep experience executing complex, high-reliability systems under strict oversight and accelerated timelines
West
Europe
THOMAS STAPP
Germany
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Thomas invests in experienced founders who are solutions focused with a great product-market fit across the industrial sector, including clean tech, alternative energy, and transportation.
Private Equity & SWF Group Bain & Co, and Oliver Wyman
Investment Executive and Chief Financial Officer for Private Equity, M&A, and VC
CFO & Investment Advisor with Constellation Acquisition Corp.
East Coast - D.C.
TERRY MACNEISH
East
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Terry collaborates with both entrepreneurs and corporations, focusing on the development of programs and technologies that drive pioneering advancements in green-tech, manufacturing and automation, semiconductors, and sensor technologies. He is a dynamic leader in systems and business development, driving innovation and global success across advanced technology sectors.
Lead systems and business development initiatives with a strong focus on program management and innovative technology for Akribis Systems
Pioneered automation systems and drove customer service advancements, steering the company's growth and innovation for Essentium, Inc.
Served as Principal, executing high-tech projects for global companies and startups with expertise in electro-opto-mechanical design and embedded systems at Crow Hill Consulting
Developed cutting-edge technology systems in imaging and projection for RED Digital Cinema
Engineered state-of-the-art optoelectronic sensing platforms and optimized manufacturing processes, significantly impacting high-volume medical sensor production for Masimo
Testimonials from Inspiring Leaders
We are convinced that CARAT's know-how fuel our success. The team’s deep backgrounds in our industry and their experience as operators helped us sharpen our execution plan.
JOEL DAWSON
CEO & Founder at THW
The most important quality you seek in a partner is trust. While Ray and the team at CARAT possess all of the desired attributes a founder seeks, their authenticity and trustworthiness stand out to me.
EDWARD KERR
CEO & Founder at Practis
I've known several of Carat's principals for years and have confidence in their depth of experience and ability to help startups like ours become winners.
William Kallman
CEO & Founder MobyNet Corp.
Deep-tech founders often struggle to balance a bold long-term vision with focused execution, and that broader vision can easily be dismissed. Carat stood out by immediately understanding our technology’s multi-industry potential while pushing us to stay grounded.
Dr. Rajan Kumar
CEO & Founder at Ateios Systems
Working with Carat Venture Partners has been a refreshing experience and a real pleasure. The process has been crisp, clear, respectful, transparent, and super-fast. Two weeks from first conversation to investment decision. No shortcuts on rigor, just a team that knows how to move.
If you want a partner who treats your time like it matters and adds value from day one, that is Carat.
Lahav Gil
CEO at ArmaBio
Our Pre-Seed was 2x oversubscribed, but we made room for Carat. In diligence, they moved quickly and understood our novel science, starting with first principles before widening to market opportunity. Since close, they've been responsive and brought seasoned perspective to every conversation. We look forward to the collaboration."
Adam Brenner
CEO & Founder at Dugu Systems
The CARAT team possesses both depth and breadth of advanced technologies, making them ideally suited to support us as we grow our immersive data visualization company.
SUZANNE BORDERS
CEO & Founder at BadVR
Carat’s value isn’t just capital deployment. It’s disciplined engagement. Their weekly involvement across product, positioning, and introductions has had a measurable impact on our trajectory. They operate with the intensity and pattern recognition of experienced builders, which is exactly what early stage companies need.
Andy Kohm
CEO & Founder at SCIP
The CARAT team has a profound knowledge of advanced manufacturing and everything that matters to creating value for investors and founders. CARAT was crucial in their guidance toward the successful execution of our business goals.
Roberto Gawianksi
CEO & Founder Smart3D
CARAT's profound grasp of the edge computing market and unparalleled support in accelerating customer acquisition resonates deeply with us.
Armar Kapadia
CEO & Founder at Aarna, now Armada
