Hunter Ashmore
VC
Hunter Ashmore
VC
Somerville, Massachusetts
Overview
Work Experience
Senior Investment Director
2022 - 2024
Led Hanwha's US-focused VC investments and strategic partnerships in Aerospace & Defense, Maritime, Advanced Manufacturing, ML/AI, Cleantech, and Sustainability Portfolio: Maverick Biometals (synbio / biomining), Fortem Technologies (dual-use / counter-uas), Phoenix Tailings (mining / cleantech), Forge Nano (adv. mfg.), Ampcera (batteries / adv. matl.), Finless Foods (foodtech)
VP of Digital Strategy
2021 - 2022
Led digital transformation and innovation projects in manufacturing to improve production efficiency and capacity.
Founder, CEO
2018 - 2021
IndustrialML is an award-winning startup building a data aggregation and analytics platform for process manufacturers. MassChallenge '20 Boston (Gold winner), Harvard ilab LLX GEO '20-'21, Plug & Play winter '20 IoT cohort
Investment Principal, HorizonX Ventures
2017 - 2018
As a venture capital principal, I was responsible for full deal lifecycle, including developing investment theses, sourcing, screening, deal negotiation, and post-investment strategic relationships. • Notable Investments: Digital Alloys (additive manufacturing), Cuberg (batteries), Gamma Alloys (advanced materials)
Business Development Consultant
2017 - 2017
Performed market analysis and provided go-to-market strategy for printed electronics offerings
Venture Investor
2016 - 2017
• Venture Capital: responsible for due diligence, sourcing, and market landscaping for venture investments in the digital-industrial space. Deal team member for Desktop Metal, Carbon3D, Optomec, Sarcos Robotics, Upskill, Rethink Robotics, Matterfab, Airware • Strategy: Laid groundwork for a startup incubation program that was to be housed in the new Boston headquarters. Coordinated ecosystem engagement, program design, and innovation center planning.
Co-Founder
2015 - 2016
LiftUp was a hardware company aiming to make strength training more convenient and approachable. 80% of Americans don’t strength train enough. Hurdles include its inconvenience (both in yearly costs and 2-hour gym trips); slow results; and high intimidation factor, whether it’s the behemoths at the gym or high-intensity guided home videos. Our solution was smart exercise equipment paired with an app for easy-to-do home workouts, automatic workout tracking, and progress reports. We combined this with a user experience focused on building healthy habits, not gimmicky 30-day beach bodies. By tackling these issues, we aimed to make strength training more interesting, convenient, and approachable.
Senior Researcher
2015 - 2015
Researcher and teaching assistant for Entrepreneurial Finance, a second-year elective course at HBS. With the three faculty members, Ramana Nanda, Bill Sahlman, and Robert White, I co-authored multiple cases and related course material: • Rubicon Global: an asset-light business disrupting an old industry of waste management • BionX: an advanced prosthetics technology company that overcame significant challenges and needed additional funding • Problem sets: designed to reinforce the course concepts of business model design, multi-stage financing, and company valuation
Summer Associate
2014 - 2014
Performed sourcing and due diligence of technology ventures in a new team on the leading edge of GE’s roadmap • Managed initial lifecycle of multiple deals, from screening to due diligence to investment • Evaluated opportunities include 3d printing, enterprise IT, collaborative robotics, and commercial drones
Director, Business Development
2011 - 2013
Cool Planet is a startup developing a new technology to convert cellulosic (non-food) biomass directly to a gasoline substitute (non-ethanol). Our system is both field deployable at the source of biomass and fully scalable. Our investors include Northbridge Partners, Google Ventures, GE Ventures, NRG, Conocophillips, BP, Shea Ventures, and Constellation Energy. Designed and implemented company growth and technology development strategies. Lead on siting process for first commercial facilities • Initiated connections with state governments to establish economic development incentives while determining locations of first commercial facilities, resulting in an offer of over $55M in tax abatements and $2.5M in grants • Established local strategic partnerships for biomass sourcing and fuel product off-take • Co-developed and executed strategy to generate near-term (pre-IPO) revenues through agricultural field trials and purchase agreements of biochar soil enhancer, a fuel production byproduct • Initiated and managed first-of-kind capital cost estimations for company key technologies in response to due diligence efforts of investors • Joined as the fifth engineer in the company, transitioned into the business development role as the company grew • Engineering lead on multiple technology demonstrators to burn down risks in key complex system components
Education
Investments
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Can we find a new word other than “startup”?
Talks about Startups, Venture Capital and Entrepreneurship