Today’s startups have serious problems dealing with their real-world impacts. This is how to stay focused on them. By Yanev Suissa founder and general partner, SineWave Ventures @yanevsuissa You might be tempted to roll your eyes when you hear the words “Silicon Valley” these days. Lots of people are increasingly disillusioned with what was once characterized as the most...
Chris is a General Partner of Sinewave Ventures. He began his career in the capital markets groups at Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers in the 1990s. After Lehman Brothers, Chris was the Co-founder and President of global macro hedge fund Big Sky Capital, Founder and CEO of specialty finance company Condesa Financiera, and Co-founder and President of structured credit hedge fund Illumination Asset Management. Chris was also a principal at MatlinPatterson Asset Management, a hedge fund and private equity firm with peak assets under management of over $9 billion.
Chris graduated from Yale University (B.A., Economics & Political Science) and is a CFA Charterholder.
We believe in the democratization of big compute. Computers are no longer just for data centers and high performance workflows are no longer just for scientists. Data computation has become the engine that drives business, so powerful and accessible computing needs to be available where and when it is needed.
At SineWave, we look for technologies that enable high performance computing from commodity resources, that enable distributed and edge computing, that support stream processing, and that enable the use of specialized processors. We also believe that compute requirements ebb and flow, and so look for technologies that enable the rapid provisioning and configuration of compute resources.
We believe data is the driving force of business, and the ability to harness one’s data and to use it in effective decision-making will become the make-or-break success criteria for companies. This means that it must be easy for non-specialists to consume heterogeneous data and to use it in complex decision processes, both human and automatic.
At SineWave, we look for data ingest technologies, developer tooling for AI and ML, understandable AI systems, analytic workflow tools, analytics to control automated processes, and decision analytics. We also believe that data need be useful in a variety of environments in a way that addresses a wide range of latency concerns. We seek technologies that adapt analytic workflows to accommodate processing constraints, and that support the development of just-in-time, just good enough analytic strategies
We believe the language used in the cybersecurity conversation has hindered the development of systemic, threat-agnostic solutions. It is easy to be distracted with looking for tools to combat specific system intruders through deployment of multiple point solutions or after-the-fact orchestration efforts. As a result, the market holds a multitude of point solutions and after-the-fact efforts to orchestrate them. At SineWave, we believe cybersecurity is just one dimension of smart system management. We seek solutions that enable you to know and understand your assets (human or machine, endpoint or network) and their behavior, to recognize deviations from the norm regardless of the cause of the anomaly, to provide fine-grained controls that permit only legitimate behaviors, and to assure the correct behavior of software and systems. This includes endpoint security systems, zero-trust systems, novel access control and isolation mechanisms, application security, code analysis, and software-defined perimeters. We also believe that data protection deserves special attention to address both security and privacy concerns, so we look for novel ways to protect data in motion and at rest.
We believe that a data-driven world requires dynamic network. Data sources and data points of use are proliferating. Operations are becoming distributed, and the network should be able to accommodate changing distribution schemes.
At SineWave, we look for technologies that heighten network adaptivity and that enable the distribution of computation across the network. This includes software-defined networking, edge networks, and 5G technologies. We also believe that adaptive networks need secure network controls, and so we look for technologies that support policy-driven networking and secure network configuration.
Brian currently serves as the director of the Naval Postgraduate School’s Remote Sensing Center NCR. He previously served as Assistant Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Special Capabilities in the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD). There he managed over $2 Billion in resources and also served as the first Director of the OSD – Special Capabilities Office. Brian has also served as the Chief Scientist and Chief Systems Engineer of Measurement and Signature Intelligence (MASINT) at the Intelligence Communities National Reconnaissance Office (NRO). He also served over 23 years as an active duty and reserve officer in the U.S. Air Force, and has been awarded the Air Force Invention Award, an NRO Silver Medal, and a US Patent.
United States Air Force Academy, B.S. in Physics with Honors (1991) and Air Force Institute of Technology, M.S. in Physics Engineering (1992).
Pat Muoio is featured as one of the General Partners at SineWave Ventures. She is an expert in matters of cybersecurity and computing, vetting the technical viability of emerging technologies. She had a 30-year career in the Intelligence Community in a variety of technical and leadership positions. She retired from the position of Chief of NSA’s Trusted System Group, a job which required strategic research planning and the management of dollar and personnel investments. She currently consults on matters of cybersecurity and computing and serves as a Venture Partner in Sinewave Ventures, vetting the technical viability of emerging technologies of possible value to the government. Pat has a B.A. from Fordham University and a PhD from Yale, both in Philosophy.
Vivek is featured as one of the General Partner at Sinewave Ventures. Prior to Sinewave, he was a Partner at Fenox VC, where he led several investments in AI, robotics, and healthcare technology companies. Before becoming an investor, he was an entrepreneur having founded and led two successive companies – GameGarage and Moyyer Research. Vivek was recognized on Forbes’ 30 Under 30 venture capitalists in 2018.
Vivek holds an M.B.A. from Yale, and a B.A. in Electrical Engineering from University of Mumbai.
Maggie is the Director of Administration at SineWave Ventures, having previously served as its Director of Operations. Before SineWave, Maggie served as the Chair of the Religion Department at Elizabeth Seton High School, an all-girls school in Bladensburg, Maryland, where she also taught Ethics and coached lacrosse. As a former high school teacher, Maggie’s roles have always demanded attention to detail and the ability to solve problems in complex situations. Maggie holds a Bachelor’s Degree from Fordham University and a Master’s Degree from Yale University.
Oliver B. Libby is Managing Director and Co-founder of Hatzimemos / Libby, an impact-focused strategy and venture based in New York City. H/L is dedicated to enhancing and accelerating companies in key growth industries that add value to society. Oliver is also Chair & Co-Founder of The Resolution Project, Inc., a non-profit that helps hundreds of undergraduate students launch new social ventures that help millions of people in nearly 70 countries and across America. Oliver serves as a member of the Advisory Council of the Clinton Global Initiative, a Trustee of the Harvard Club of New York City Foundation, a Presidential Leadership Scholar, a Milken Young Leader, a Concordia Summit Advisor, a GLG Social Impact Fellow, and a NationSwell Councilmember. Mr. Libby graduated from Harvard College.
Robert is the Chairman and Founder of SINET, which brings together innovators with executives from private industry, venture capital, investment banking, system integration, policy, academia, and science, as well as the Federal Government’s civilian, military and intelligence agencies. SINET programs are supported by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and the UK and Australian Governments. Previously, Robert served 22 years as a Special Agent with the U.S. Secret Service where he held a number of executive leadership positions within the Presidential Protection, Protective Intelligence, Inspection, Criminal Investigation Divisions and the Counter Assault Team. Robert holds a degree from California State University at Long Beach.
Yanev is the Founder and Managing General Partner of SineWave Ventures. Prior to SineWave, Yanev was an investor at New Enterprise Associates (NEA), where he sourced, managed, and helped advise dozens of early stage investments. Yanev was also a Senior Investment Officer in both the Bush and Obama Administrations, and was the first person hired to build the Federal Loan Program, which grew to a ~$150 billion investment vehicle.
Yanev holds degrees from Yale University (B.A., Magna Cum Laude), Harvard Law School (J.D.), Oxford Said School of Business (M.B.A., Christ Church), and Sydney Law School (Masters, Distinction).
